1 86 Modern Dogs. 



*' There is a point in their character that I must 

 not fail to notice, and that is their curious and sturdy 

 independence. Doubtless many hound men would 

 dislike this trait extremely. We do not. We 

 cherish it as most precious, a quality second to none 

 in the animal's composition. Without it we should 

 not kill half the wild stout foxes that we do. I do 

 not know that I can explain this quality better than 

 in the words of a gentleman who saw the Llangibby 

 account for a fox in a difficult country, and said, 

 ' Lawrence, your hounds don't hunt like hounds, but 

 just as if they were wild dogs.' This conveys my 

 meaning. They hunt as a wild animal pursues his 

 prey, to kill and have its blood, paying as much 

 attention to the game they have in hand and as little 

 to their huntsman as they conveniently can. At a 

 check, when an unjumpable ravine or a dingle that 

 must be circumvented intervenes between them and 

 their huntsman, you do not see them standing still 

 shaking their sterns, and looking wistfully for their 

 human friends to come and tell them where to try. 

 No ; they spread here and there, all over the place, 

 busy as spaniels, crossing and traversing, till 

 presently one hits it off, and away they go to cry. 

 This very independent nature of theirs makes them 

 a trifle more headstrong in their work than some 

 men might like. For instance, you have to stop 



