60 HUNTING THE FOX 



back of his Fox. The late Lord Henry Bentinck, 

 in his own inimitable manner, puts it so well that 

 it is impossible not to quote him : 



" The highest praise that can be given to a 

 Huntsman is for a fool to say, ' We had a great run, 

 and killed our fox ; as for the Huntsman, he might 



have BEEN IN BED.' " 



Or the day may be one of those rare days, almost 

 as delightful as that described, when, although the 

 pace is not so good. Hounds are able to follow their 

 Fox without any help wherever he goes, and if 

 they do not change on to another, to wear him 

 down in about an hour, or perhaps longer. But 

 on nine days out of ten, they will be brought to 

 their noses in less than twenty minutes. In the 

 meantime, the ideal place for the Huntsman to 

 ride should have been about a hundred yards to 

 the right or left rear of the pack, whichever is 

 down wind of them. He should as far as possible 

 look ahead, so as to anticipate difficulties, but his 

 attention should be mainly concentrated on the 

 leading Hounds, so as to mark the magic spot 

 where they lose the scent. This faculty is by no 

 means so easy as it sounds, and to exercise it 

 correctly requires a practised eye. For instance, 

 a party of young Hounds, rejoicing in the lead, 

 sometimes seem to think that the fun is going to 

 last for ever, and in their exuberance will often 

 drive on, and even throw their tongues for several 



