THE FATHER OF MODERN HUNTING 



who is himself for all time a master of the subject of 

 hounds and hunting. It would be scarcely fair, nay, it 

 would be churlish, to dismiss Somervile without a 

 glance at the work which has rendered him famous. 

 The Chace is divided into four books, through which, 

 in the brief space of a page or two of this chapter, we 

 may be allowed to conduct the reader. The poet opens 

 with an address to the Prince of Wales — Frederick the 

 unstable — father of George III. He deals with the 

 origin of hunting, referring to the Normans as the 

 introducers of a regular system and of proper hunting 

 language, and after a notice of the excellence of our 

 horses and hounds, and an address to gentlemen of 

 estates, plunges deeper into his subject. His descrip- 

 tion of kennel management is first-rate, and little fault 

 can be found with it even by masters and huntsmen of 

 the present day. Here is a picture which may surely 

 interest any man or woman fond of animal life, much 

 more a true hound lover : 



"See there with count'nance blithe, 

 And with a courtly grin, the fawning- hound 

 Salutes thee cow'ring-, his wide op'ning nose 

 Upward he curls, and his large sloe-black eyes 

 Melt in soft blandishments and humble joy; 

 His glossy skin, or yellow-pied or blue, 

 In lights or shades by Nature's pencil drawn, 

 Reflects the various tints ; his ears and legs, 

 Fleck't here and there, in gay enamell'd pride, 

 Rival the speckled pard: his rush-grown tail 

 O'er his broad back bends in an ample arch ; 

 On shoulders clean, upright and firm he stands ; 

 His round cat-foot, straight hams, and widespread thighs, 

 And his low-drooping chest confess his speed. 

 His strength, his wind, or on the steepy hill. 

 Or far extended plain ; in ev'ry part 

 So well proportion'd. " 



After discussing various breeds of hound, and good 

 and bad scenting days, the first book ends with an 



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