THE WHIPPER-IN 



79 



rightly placed to check it, with the further advantage 

 of knowing and rating the hound that offends, instead 

 of chiding indiscriminately. If hounds are driven 

 under their Huntsman's horse when approaching riot, 

 they will pass it by without looking it in the face, 

 noticing it no more than they would if a hare were 

 turned down in their kennel while the men stood by 

 with their whips. Such treatment cannot make 

 hounds steady ; on the contrary, they have sense 

 enough to know when they are out of your reach, 



and, like boys from school, on the sudden removal 

 of unnatural restraint, they are the more inclined to 

 join in any riot that may offer. A rate when given 

 at an improper time does more harm than good ; it 

 disgusts your honest hound — it shies and prevents 

 from hunting your timid one ; and it is treated with 

 contempt by those of another character, who may at 

 some future time deserve it." 



Mr. Beckford gives an admirable illustration of the 

 absurdity of supposing that because hounds refrain 

 from mischief when their attendants are by, that 

 they are necessarily steady in their absence. A friend 



