REMINISCENCES OF A HUNTSMAN. 113 



covered his fault; lie was a confirmed skirter. Other- 

 wise he was a most industrious and stout dog, 

 very steady, and a very good hound to draw. lie 

 was nothing near so bad a skirter as his brother, 

 who the first day that I had him in the open, 

 behaved so ill on a cold scent, that I ordered the 

 man from the Salisbury kennel — I forget his name 

 at this moment — to catch him and couple him up, 

 or leave him at a farm-house, anywhere so that he 

 was not with me. The man caught him, and de- 

 stroyed him on the spot ; and for this act, unauthorised 

 by me, he the same night received warning to quit my 

 service ; he remained only till 1 could get another 

 whipper-in. I bred from Blazer and Jeopardy, 

 being short of brood-bitches, because the blood of 

 each was good ; Jeopardy being somewhat slack and 

 slow upon the line, and Blazer as much too free. 

 Between two faults you occasionally meet perfection ; 

 in this instance numerical perfection was arrived at, 

 in the shape of the strength of the litter ; she had 

 eighteen puppies, which was the most I ever knew 

 at one birth. By the aid of wet nurses all these 

 puppies were reared, but not one of them came into 

 use, either through distemper or want of figure ; 

 and as this often happens in litters of foxhounds, 

 men may judge of the value of a full-sized puppy 

 over the distemper and passed for the entry of the 

 season. This reminds me of the trial at Gloucester, 

 where a farmer was sued by Mr. Plorlock, I think, 

 for having destroyed a fine foxhound puppy, and 

 buried it in his mixen. The body of the puppy Avas 

 afterwards exhumed by the whipper-in ; and sworn 

 to by the litter-mark on the ear. The puppy was 

 bred from a hound of the Duke of Beaufort's ; and 



