396 F_YSTEM OF KEXXEL AND 



and he has good cause to be proud of such an 

 achievement, which has cost much labour and 

 scientific knowledge in bringing to a fortunate 

 termination. Omiic tulit punctum qui miscuit utile 

 dulci. 



Foxhunting may be said to combine the utile and 

 dulce, by imparting health to the body as well as 

 recreation and pleasure to the mind. Wild-shoot- 

 ing, in contradistinction to battueing, where a man 

 must take plenty of walking exei^cise to fill his bag, 

 is both useful and agreeable, and the shooter can 

 boast of pursuing his game to more advantage than 

 foxhunters. Upon such matters of taste, however, 

 we are not disposed to split straws. Some men 

 prefer walking to riding ; the latter is our choice, 

 from being more exhilarating, and attended with less 

 fatigue of body, which always tells upon the spirit. 



With foxhunting, non-intervention on the part of 

 the field has been considered a necessary and 

 general rule to lay down, the propriety of Avhich is 

 obvious ; as " too many cooks spoil the brotli,'^ too 

 many amateur assistants are certain to spoil the 

 sport. There are some men who really take an 

 interest in all the proceedings, from the find to the 

 finish ; but they are rarce aves in these days, when 

 riding occupies the minds of ninety-nine out of the 

 hundred, and so little attention is bestowed upon the 

 work of hounds : still, where such men are to be 

 found, masters hail their appearance at the place of 

 meeting with sincere pleasure, regarding them as 

 brother labourers in the same field, upon whose co- 

 operation in critical cases they may depend; and there 



