80 HOESES AND HOUNDS. 



and the old may follow on, though not relishing it. To make p. 

 pack of fox-hounds run well togetlier, which is the great desi- 

 deratum, they must be drafted both from the head and tail ; if 

 there is an individual which has the speed of the pack, and can 

 run out at head, he should be drafted ; and old hounds in like 

 manner which cannot run up with the others. Old favourites 

 and brood bitches which are not noisy, and do not hang upon 

 the scent, may be used with advantage during the cub-hunting 

 season, and up to the time of regular hunting, when they ought 

 to be left at home. 



As a sample of the materials which generally compose an old 

 draft, I make a quotation from the letter of a huntsman sent me 

 some years ago, after I had taken his draft, in answer to my 

 inquiries about the characters of the hounds, which were a 

 very good looking lot. 



Sovereign — very steady, but slach in his work. 



Headlong — steady, but scores when in covert, (i.e., cuts 

 corners.) 



Radical — steady, but free with her tongue, (in other words, 

 noisy.) 



Pilgrim — thought to be deaf. (No mistake about him — as deaf 

 as a post.) 



Jeopardy — does too little work. (There were some hopes of 

 her improving, being young.) 



Nigel — Lame in the stifle. (Case hopeless.) 



Yeoman — a good hunter, but tires after a long day. (He 

 would be of little service with an afternoon fox.) 



Basil— fond of hare. (That did not much signify with a 

 good whipper-in, being merely a question between the two, 

 who was master.) 



Fearless — Foolish. 



General — hangs in covert. (Another case to be determined by 

 the free use of whipcord.) 



Stigma — too much in a hurry. (Little chance of improve- 

 ment, this case beyond the power of whipcord to cure.) 

 Whirlwind — a good hunter, but tires after a long day. 



P.S. Have an especial eye to General amongst sheep and 

 lambs. 



The pith of a lady's letter is said to be in the postscript, and 

 often in a gentleman's too. This latter hint about General, 

 settled his fate at once, and his travelling ticket was made out 

 accordingly. The lot were altogether, (although handsome to 

 the eye) as loose a sample as to character as any young gentle- 

 man just commencing business in the fox-hunting department, 

 with a country full of riot and short of foxes, could wish to 



