88 THE HUNTING FIELD 



and dispositions of different hounds, so essential to 

 a Huntsman ; and will not require to be perpetually 

 cautioned against the indiscriminate administration of 

 punishment. For one hound a word may suffice, 

 while others may require as much payment as lawyers 

 before they do anything ; with these it must neces- 

 sarily be not only a word, but a word and a blow, 

 and the blow first ; but nothing annoys me more than 

 to see a cut made at a hound in the midst of others 

 guiltless of the cause. It is ten to one but the lash, 

 intended for Vagabond or Guilty, will descend upon 

 Manager or Blameless, and render others shy to no 

 purpose. The difficulty consists in contriving to 

 awe the resolute without breaking the spirit of the 

 timid." 



" Whippers-in, like Huntsmen," writes Mr. Delme 

 Radcliffe, " must feel a pride in their places, an 

 interest in the credit and reputation of the pack, and 

 thoroughly enjoy the sport, although their labour is 

 not light, but, on the contrary, very arduous, and 

 often harassing and vexatious. Without being able 

 to ride, a man will, probably, not be placed in such 

 a situation ; but they should be more than mere 

 riders, they should be active and good horsemen, 

 capable of distinguishing between the use and abuse 

 of the horse intrusted to them." 



Some gentlemen assist in turning hounds, some let 

 them alone, lest they may be doing wrong, and get a 

 " blessing " for their trouble ; while others console 

 themselves with thinking that it is no business of 

 theirs, and just let them have their fling until a 

 Whipper-in arrives. Of course we would not insult 

 modern sportsmen by supposing that any of them 

 would be acquainted with the name of a hound so as 

 to check him by it as well as by the whip, but in the 

 absence of a Whipper-in there cannot be any harm 

 in one of the field circumventing a delinquent, and 

 turning him back into cover. Young hands ride 



