168 ON HUNTING. 



moment when the leading homid turns right or left, or, 

 losing the scent, checks, or, catching it hreast high, i-aces 

 away mute, " dropping his stern as straight as a tobacco- 

 pipe." 



By thus studying the leading hounds instead of 

 racing against your neighbours' horses, you see how 

 they turn, save many an angle, and are ready to pull up 

 the moment the hounds throw up their heads. 



Never let your anxiety to be forward induce you to 

 press upon the hounds when they are hunting ; nothing 

 makes a huntsman more angry, or spoils sport more. 



Set the example of getting out of the way when the 

 huntsman, all anxious, comes trotting back through a 

 narrow road to make his cast after a check. 



Attention to these hints, which are familiar to every 

 old sportsman, will tend to make a young one successful 

 and i^opular. 



When you are well up, and hounds come to a check, 

 instead of beginning to relate how wonderfully the bay 

 horse or the gray mare carried you, notice every point 

 that may help the huntsman to make his cast — sheep, 

 cattle, magpies, and the exact point where the scent 

 began to fail. It is observation that makes a true 

 sportsman. 



As soon as the run has ended, begin to pay attention 

 to the condition of your horse, whose spirit may have 

 carried him further than his strength warranted ; it is to 

 be presumed, that you have eased him at every check 

 by turning his nose to the wind, and if a heavy man, by 

 dismounting on every safe opportunity. 



The first thing is to let him have just enough water 

 to wash his mouth out without chilling him. The next 

 to feed him — the horse has a small stomachy and requires 

 food often. 



