SCIENCE OF FOXHUNTING. 107 



praise of such huntsmen to whom we render the 

 honour due to them, we must, however, admit that 

 their number is comparatively small, and as a 

 general rule, the observations of " Dryasdust " are 

 unfortunately too well founded. During our career 

 as huntsman for nearly thirty years, we found one 

 man only, out of seven or eight others, first 

 whipper-in and kennel huntsman, to whom we 

 would have trusted the management of the pack, 

 either in the kennel or field — and that individual 

 was the late huntsman of the Bramham Moor, 

 Charles Tread well, to whom we could securely have 

 trusted untold gold ; and we believe no bribe, 

 however large, would have induced him to betray 

 his master's interest. 



As to the killing of cubs and foxes, notwith- 

 standing we think nearly all huntsmen agreed on 

 one point — to kill them when they can, to count 

 scalps on the kennel door, they are rather too 

 indifferent how the scalps are obtained, and we 

 remember a story told-*— it may be such in reality, 

 i.e., a fib — of a huntsman allowing his hounds to 

 devour a whole litter one morning ! Even were 

 this a fact, it admits of palliation or explanation, 

 since accidents will occur in the best-regulated 

 families ; and with the intention of taking one 

 only out of a litter, we remember once to have 

 had the ill-luck to kill four, and without the power 

 of preventing such unpremeditated slaughter. You 

 cannot prevent cubs — hitherto undisturbed and 

 unacquainted with their enemies — being chopped 

 up sometimes in a very unsatisfactory manner ; 



