286 HORSES AND HOUNDS. 



you like it, the greater our gratification. Selfishness forms no 

 part of our profession. A master of fox-hounds does not say, 

 Odi profanum vidgus et arceo, but welcome all alike, from the 

 peer to the peasant. He does not ask game-preservers to spare 

 foxes for his own gratification, but for the amusement of the 

 country generally. 



A master of fox-hounds is a public servant, and as such it is 

 incumbent upon him to conciliate, as much as possible, those 

 with whom conciliation will avail ; but it is no proof of illi- 

 berality on his part, if, after fair remonstrances have failed, he 

 is obliged to denounce some who are selfishly endeavouring to 

 mar the very object it is his business constantly to keep in 

 view — the sport of the community at large. All large game- 

 preservers are not necessarily fox destroyers ; but, on the con- 

 trary, many of them are our best friends and supporters, and 

 we are neitlier unmindful of, nor ungrateful for, their generous 

 assistance to our cause. To this fact the experience of every 

 master of hounds in every country will bear testimony. 



In my own countiy, when I kept fox-hounds, one of our very 

 best friends was a large game-preserver. He was no fox-hunter 

 himself, seldom mounting; a horse ; but he was a strict pre- 

 server of foxes, and I will say no man was more generally 

 respected throughout the whole country. He not only patron- 

 ized the hounds, but one of our fixtures, and the most popular 

 of all, was on the lawn in front of his house. To this place pf 

 meeting men from other haunts would flock with alacrity, in 

 well-founded expectation of a good fox and a good day's sport. 

 His house was open on these occasions to all of our illiberal 

 cloth, and a glass of jumping powder freely offered to those who 

 liked to avail themselves of his hospitality. Were we fox- 

 hunters insensible to such acts of kindness and liberality, or 

 did they not call forth corresponding feelings on our part ? I 

 will venture to say there was not one true-hearted fox-hunter 

 among us all, including the whining ia^rmers, as well, who would 

 not have gone through fire and water to serve this gentleman 

 or any of his family. 



There were no large woodlands here to draw ; the coverts 

 were all small — in fact, mere spinneys. Upon the lawn might be 

 seen from two to three hundred pheasants called together in the 

 morning by the keeper to be fed, and upon that lawn, with all 

 these pheasants and hares almost innumerable, have I found a 

 litter of cubs, and hunted them on foot among the laurels. In 

 one season I found eight foxes in this gentleman's preserves, 

 and killed seven of them, all with good runs. I state these 

 facts to prove that foxes and game can exist together, and that 



