.50 



helped, and must be endured with stoicism as one of 

 the many difficulties which Diana lays on the shoulders 

 of all true worshippers at her shrine. If a hunt was 

 invariably successful the sport would lose more than 

 half its charm, and it is the uncertainty that hangs 

 round all pertaining to the chase which is one of its 

 greatest attributes. The greater the uncertainty the 

 greater the satisfaction at a successful issue. 



For this reason alone it is an advantage to have 

 small hounds. A pack of sixteen inches with good 

 noses, and built on the right Hnes, should account for 

 nearly every hare found, when the assurance of almost 

 certain success is in danger of satiating the appetite. 



With a hare barely out of sight and on a moderate 

 scenting day, any hound worthy of the name ought to 

 be able to go its best pace, so that if its speed approaches 

 closely to the hunted animals, the latter has no chance of 

 forging ahead. A hunt under these conditions is Httle 

 better than a coursing match. 



The use of big hounds for hare-hunting brings in the 

 danger of keeping those with only indifferent working 

 quahties as except on a road the highly sensitive nose and 

 abiUty to puzzle out a cold line are seldom required. 

 The huntsman handling a pack of large size is incUned 

 to seek for a fresh hare when the one he has been 

 hunting gets far ahead and the Une becomes stale, so 

 that hounds quickly lose the virtues of patience and 

 perseverance. 



Different Masters have different rules, and some do 

 not Uke anyone except the official whipper-in, to carry 

 a whip. There are, however, others who ask certain 

 members of their field to carry a whip, particularly 

 if they are runners of average merit. It may be, 

 perhaps, only once or twice in a season they may have 



