Mr. Mtdlens and his Hariri 



lers. 



comparatively little to do in the field, and he may do 

 that little deliberately. If he has exercised good 

 judgment in breeding and drafting his hounds, and 

 has brought them out in good condition, handy and 

 steady, the most difficult part of his work is done. 

 The more he leaves them to themselves on a scent, 

 and, perhaps, the farther he can be satisfied to keep 

 behind them, provided he can persuade the rest of 

 the field to do the same, the better will it be. I think 

 that the points on which he can chiefly show superior 

 skill are these two : knowing how to look for a hare, 

 which is a great art ; and knowing when a hare has 

 squatted, and then patiently walking her up instead 

 of leaving her behind him. And in both these arts 

 Mr. Mullens was an adept. The result is, that most 

 men of good sense, who choose to give their attention 

 to the work, can make competent huntsmen of har- 

 riers ; but a large majority of good sportsmen, who 

 are excellent judges of fox-hunting, and know per- 

 fectly whether the thing is done well or ill, would fail 

 miserably in doing it. 



Mr. Mullens was a retired brewer, and kept his 

 hounds at a house called Skippet's Inn, about a mile 

 from Basingstoke, not far from the lodge into Hack- 

 wood Park. During the years that I knew him, I 

 grew from boyhood to manhood, and he from a 

 middle-aged to an old man. He was an excellent 

 specimen of his class, being a shrewd, sensible, well- 

 mannered man ; and was well qualified to be a hare- 

 hunter by temper, patience, and a thorough know- 

 ledge of the nature and habits both of the hare and 

 the hound. When I first knew him he was always 

 accompanied in the field by a nephew who lived with 



