212 MANAGEMENT OF HOUNDS. 



made them more irritable. With kind words they 

 would do anything, and, as I always made pets of them, 

 their tractability was shown in various ways. 



I used to put my boy of about five years old on some 

 of their backs, to ride about ; and it was amusing to see 

 what kicks and cuffs they would take from him in the 

 greatest good humour. Do what he would with them, 

 they never showed any disposition to be out of temper, 

 and seemed proud of carrying him about. 



The characters of high-bred foxhounds are seldom suf- 

 ficiently understood or appreciated. Of all dogs they 

 are the highest in courage and generosity, and capable 

 of great attachment. Huntsmen, generally, use them as 

 a body without any individual characteristics, and as long 

 as they answer to their names in the kennel, and do 

 their work in the field, give little more attention to them. 

 I used to study their characters, and make them attached 

 to me as spaniels, by kindness and good humour. Some- 

 times they accompanied me in the summer, without any 

 whipper-in, and did just as they liked. They would run 

 on before me some distance, but always looked back to 

 see if I was coming, and when we arrived at any cross 

 roads the}' waited until I came up, to see which road I 

 meant to take; then, jumping round my horse, set off* 

 again at half speed, romping and playing in high good 

 humour. 



I have travelled for miles with them without any whip- 

 per-in, but no hound would ever linger behind or leave 

 me. In the hunting season, also, I frequently returned 

 home in dark nights, with only one whipper-in behind 

 me, and we were always once a week nearly twenty miles 

 from home when we left off hunting, seldom reaching 



