A Youthful WTiip. 19 



was then a lad of eleven years, but I fancied 

 that I already knew something about horses 

 and hounds and hunting. Probably my 

 father thought so too ; at any rate, I whipped- 

 in for him from that year, being perhaps one 

 of the youngest Whips in the kingdom. 



In the course of time — to be exact, in 

 the year 1840 — my father handed the horn 

 to me, and from that day I set to work to 

 build up a pack that I should be proud of. 

 And the sport they have given me, and so 

 many of my neighbours also, leaves nothing 

 to regret concerning the trouble I have 

 taken in making the pack what it is to-day. 

 " Trouble " I have said, but any Master who 

 has built up a pack, and who has enjoyed 

 the delight of watching its development, and of 

 noting the splendid work and clever achieve- 

 ments of the leaders — such hounds, for instance, 

 as old Hasty, and Wakeful, and Cowslip, 

 beautiful creatures, who were as intelligent 

 and responsive as any human being could 

 possibly be — the building up of such a pack 

 cannot be spoken of as " trouble." It has 



B 



