CHASE OF THE WILD RED DEER 109 



deigned to call his virtues into action ; and the per- 

 fect success of his manoeuvres when he chose to mar 

 a day's sport by giving way to his moody and un- 

 governable temper, — that temper, alas ! naturally 

 capricious, rendered worse by his attachment to the 

 bottle, the bane of many a good servant ? Joe held 

 the reins of government for a short period only 

 (Thomas Hunt acting as his whipper-in), and when 

 deposed, his place was filled by James Tout, to 

 whom Joe, in his turn, acted as whipper-in for many 

 seasons, under Col. Bassett, Lord Fortescue, and 

 Mr Lucas, His career was sadly chequered ; often 

 disgraced in consequence of bad conduct, he was as 

 often recalled on promises of amendment (received 

 with distrust, and made only to be again broken), 

 because his knowledge of the sport and ability as 

 kennel-manager were such, that it was next to an 

 impossibility to do without him. In Mr Boyse's 

 MS., to which I have referred in the preface, I find 

 constant notices of those vicissitudes in Joe's for- 

 tunes. Thus, ' 1798. Col. Bassett has discharged 

 Joe; he must return.' ' 1799, Joe Faulkner is 

 taken back.' ' 1807, Joe Faulkner is again dis- 

 charged ; I fear he will be found wanting ' ; and 

 so forth. In the year 182 1, after many hair- 

 breadth escapes, poor Joe had the misfortune to 



