THEIR PHILOSOPHY OF THE CHASE. 



93 



that the rider and his horse take equal risks, and whether 

 it be the man's neck or the horse's back that is broken, 

 they are in entire sympathy and accord, one with the other. 

 The average man will take care neither to override or 

 otherwise abuse his faithful friend, and it must not be 

 forgotten that 



It 'aint the 'unting as 'urts the 'orse's 'oofs, 



But the 'ammer, 'ammer, 'ammer on the 'ard 'igh road ! 



Now let us consider the hounds as they pursue their 

 prey. Stiff thorns in the covert may cause no little pain 

 and discomfort, but being bred to face them, habit becomes 

 second nature, as we can perceive by the pleasure they 

 take in forcing their way through. The one thing they do 

 detest, and from which they sometimes suffer cruelly, is 

 barbed wire, which, whether men approve or disapprove of 

 hunting, should never be erected in a hunting country. 

 Nails and glass upon gates and walls are also responsible 

 for a good deal of trouble ; and, incidently, when hounds are 

 allowed to run in frosty weather, their feet get cut and sore 

 from contact with the hard ground. But it must be 

 generally admitted that hunting men, from their greater 

 knowledge of animals, love of nature and out-door life, 

 would be quite as likely as others to view with abhorrence 

 any wanton act of cruelty to either horse or hound. 



In considering the question of cruelty, we must not 

 forget that the fox is the natural prey of the hound, and 

 that all carnivorous animals prey upon each other. Like 

 mortals, he is " born to sorrow, even as the sparks fly 

 upward," for if hounds were non-existent, he could not 

 avoid paying the ** penalty of life " one way or another. 

 But though he may have his sorrows he has his pleasures 

 too ! Imprimis, he comes into being under the most 

 "eugenic" conditions, for his progenitors are necessarily 

 " survivors of the fittest." Then he is left undisturbed in 

 his native woodlands for half the year, with abundance of 



