GOING THE TACE. 161 



exertion without his rider having felt him particu- 

 larly distressed ; but, when we find men literally 

 boasting of the number of horses killed by themselves 

 and their friends, I am inclined to think the heels have 

 been more at work than the head. 



When I state that I consider hounds may be bred 

 too fast, I do not mean it solely in allusion to its re- 

 quiring greater speed and exertion on the part of the 

 horses, but that I consider it spoils hunting. We 

 may naturally infer, that, when a man keeps or 

 undertakes the management of a pack of fox- 

 hounds, he is a judge of fox-hunting ; and, as I 

 have before said, I doubt not but some of these 

 gentlemen, if left to their own inclinations, would 

 like a little more real hunting than fashion allows : 

 but those who keep hounds wish to please their 

 friends ; they have also a very pardonable, nay proper, 

 pride in hearing the pack considered a crack one, and 

 this they would not be, though they might kill their 

 fox or a brace a-day, unless they actually coursed 

 him : hunting up to him would not do. So the 

 Master goes with the tide; he is master of the 

 hounds : but fashion is the master of him. One who 

 only manages a pack must of course please his mem- 

 bers, or where is the cash? That, in keeping fox- 

 hounds, goes pretty fast too : so the hounds must go 

 the devil's pace to catch that. I venture a hope, that 

 though I do think it is quite possible hounds may be 

 too fast, my brother Sportsmen will not think that I 

 am too slow, for I like fast ones, in men, horses, or 

 dogs; but my countryman, John Bull, never seems 

 to know any medium ; and for this I can in no way 

 account: his temperament is by no means enthu- 

 siastic in any way ; yet, where fashion leads him, he 



VOL. I. M 



