122 HUNTING THE FOX 



Hunting with an amusing and cultivated style 

 that is quite his own. The authors of the Bad- 

 minton volume remind us of an appreciation of 

 Beckford's work by a contemporary writer : " Never 

 had fox or hare the honour of being chased to death 

 by so accomplished a huntsman ; never was a 

 huntsman's dinner graced by such urbanity and 

 wit. He would bag a fox in Greek, find a hare in 

 Latin, inspect his kennels in Italian, and direct 

 the economy of his stables in excellent French." 

 Every word of Beckford can be studied to-day with 

 advantage by any one who wishes to become 

 M.F.H. If one dared to make any reservation 

 with regard to this distinguished author, one 

 might say that too much attention is devoted to 

 the correction of Hounds by the whip ; and that 

 to turn down before the young Hounds a badger, 

 having first taken care to break the teeth of the 

 poor brute, seems a needless piece of cruelty. It 

 is also curious to find such a fine sportsman as 

 Beckford countenancing the turning down of bag 

 Foxes. It is true that he says he dislikes bag 

 Foxes, and proceeds to state his objections to 

 them in his own inimitable manner. But the 

 minute description on the very same page, of how 

 to organize a hunt after a bag Fox, can hardly 

 have been written by any one who had not done 

 it himself. 



The best thing in Thoughts upon Hunting is 



