THE HOUND 33 



Formerly c Old Bob ' the whip would ride down 

 the dale on a hunting morning, blowing his horn, 

 and at the sound, from every farmhouse one of 

 the pack would gallop out to meet him. It was 

 said that many of the hounds knew the hunting 

 days, and when the days were changed, an old 

 veteran lodging at an outlying farmstead always 

 turned out on the original day, and finding no 

 one at the meet, returned home much disgusted. 

 This happened for several weeks, until at last the 

 old hound's heart was broken, and stretching him- 

 self out on the kitchen hearth, he died a victim 

 to change. 



Fox-hunting, it will be seen, is thus a plant of 

 gradual growth that, like some strange, forbidden 

 weed, came up by accident amongst hare-hunting 

 and deer-hunting, which then threatened to over- 

 shadow it, but which now it in its turn has nearly 

 choked out of existence. 



The ancient history of the hound may be 

 interesting and perhaps instructive ; but I im- 

 agine you would like to consider the animal as 

 we find it now. The latter half of the present 

 century has seen a very marked improvement in 

 the fox-hound's appearance, and the blood that is 



c 



