118 THE LIFE OF A FOXHOUND. 



prey. Birds, like mice, are her natural food ; 

 and she, therefore, takes them without any 

 other motive than to please her palate; but 

 foxes, not being ours, we require the ardour 

 of the chase to make them agreeable to our 

 tastes." 



* ' What do you think would be the effect if 

 we were not allowed to break the fox up ? " 

 inquired I. 



" That we should be just as eager to find, 

 run and pull him down," replied he. ** You 

 hear sometimes of men talking about hounds 

 wanting blood. It's all nonsense. We may 

 want to kill ; but hounds never flag from want 

 of blood. All highly bred dogs like iis love 

 sport, and we hunt for the enjoyment of it; 

 not for our bellies. But men are such selfish 

 beasts, and think so much about eating that 

 they can't give us credit for being more 

 disinterested than themselves. ' ' 



" You are very severe on our masters," 

 rejoined I. 



*' Not more so than they deserve," returned 

 Trimbush. " Not one in a thousand of 'em 

 thinks for himself; but just repeats that 

 which he's told, and so they go on babble, 

 babble, babble, with about as much meaning 



