366 THE LIFE OF A SPORTSMAN 



harm in your trying the experiment of hunting your own 

 hounds ; forasmuch as, if it do not succeed, you can but 

 fall back on a substitute. All I will say now, then, is 

 that I will brush up my memory on some points, and give 

 you the result of my reminiscences and reflections at the 

 earliest period within my power. In the meantime, 

 believe me, truly yours, 



"JoHX "\VARDE. 

 " To FRANCIS RABT, Esq., &c. &c." 



In about a fortnight after the receipt of this friendly 

 letter, our hero was favoured with the following observa- 

 tions from his kind friend and preceptor : 



" I must start with your start. Do you purchase, or 

 get together a pack of your own ? I should recommend 

 the former at a liberal price. It will save you much 

 trouble, and be the cheapest plan in the end. If you 

 collect a pack like Harlequin's snuff, a pinch out of every 

 man's box have nothing to do but with kennels of the 

 highest character, for the better the hounds are, the less 

 bad, of course, will be the drafts, and vice versa. For 

 example, who would accept of a hound drafted from 



C 's pack ? At all events, if you determine on forming 



a pack by drafts from different kennels, don't fail pur- 

 chasing twice as many as you may require, for, depend on 

 it, one half of them will be useless. Ask yourself the 

 question ' Who would draft good hounds 1 ' You are then 

 purchasing faults, which you may never again get rid of. 

 And do not trust to your eye ; I have had hundreds of 

 beautiful hounds, in my time, not worth one day's meal. 

 Indeed, it sometimes strikes me that, as hounds improve 

 in beauty, which they certainly do, they lose other more 

 necessary qualities. This is certainly the case, unless they 

 are bred from the very best blood. I conclude this part 

 of my subject, then, by assuring you that, if you attempt 

 to form a pack of foxhounds yourself, you must not, 

 clever fellow as you are, expect perfection under ten years, 

 and that makes a hole even in a young man's life. I can 

 only say it cost me that time to form what I considered a 

 steady and stout pack. Some sorts prove vicious, however 

 highly bred ; some unsound, some delicate ; and, foras- 

 much as it requires three years to find out the results of 

 any cross, how favourable soever may be the expectation 

 from it, the breeder of hounds is too often, if not working 



