HORSES AND HOUNDS. 215 



began crying. Out of school this boy was of a cheerful and 

 good temper, but he was frightened at his lessons. The master, 

 being out of patience with his stupidity, handed him over to me 

 to teach him ]ii3 task. He went on tolerably well until he 

 arrived at the hard word, when he broke down as usual, and 

 began crying, thinking I should thrash him. " What's the 

 matter, Tom f I said. " Oh !" he replied, " indeed I cannot pro- 

 nounce that word right." " Well," I said, " don't cry about 

 it ; I shall not strike you for not knowing. You have done 

 very well up to that point. Leave that word out entirely ; I 

 don't care about it — skip it ; there's an end of it." We got on 

 very well in this v/ay for some days, but I never allowed him to 

 attempt this word ; it was always passed over by my orders. 

 His task was a long one, to be repeated before the holidays, and 

 I had it over tolerably often, to make sure, for I was anxious he 

 should not fail under my instruction. I treated him with kind- 

 ness and encouragement, but never got out of temper, or spoke 

 harshly. The consequence was that the hard word soon fell in 

 with the rest, and he went through his whole task at the ap- 

 pointed time without missing a word. The bugbear had dis- 

 appeared. 



I have seen horses in like manner shy on the road at a heap 

 of stones or other things ; and what is the reason of it 1 Because 

 some lout, on his first shying at them, has ridden hini up (as I 

 have often seen done) to the stones, and there beaten him. The 

 next time the horse shies again, not for fear of the stones, but 

 for fear of the beating. A very excellent sportsman, who was 

 for many years a most efficient master of fox-hounds, used to tell 

 me that he never gave himself any trouble about his young 

 hounds running riot, but let them have it out, as long as they 

 did not taste blood. He said, from not being encouraged, they 

 soon found out their mistake, and always became more steady 

 afterwards. It is said, " forbidden fruit is always the best," and I 

 suppose my worthy friend was of the same opinion. His practice, 

 if rather objectionable, was certainly less so than knocking a 

 hound's head nearly off for committing no fault at all — Jledio 

 tuiisHimus ibis. 



Whoever begins hunting a new country with a new pack of 

 hounds got together from different kennels, must expect to meet 

 with difficulties and disappointments, and little else for the first 

 season. A lot of hounds and a pack of hounds are two distinct 

 things, as any novice will soon discover to his cost. I have, 

 however, seen sport occasionally mth such, but being mostly 

 of an accidental nature, it will not last. Hounds ignorant of 

 their country, and unacquainted with each other, cannot fairly 



