THE HUNTSMAN 45 



faded gorse bushes. A slight breeze caught one of these, and 

 set it a-going on the brow of the hill. The hounds caught view 

 and dashed away full cry, Soup and Chaw riding, rating, and 

 rioting, which the hounds were just as likely to take for 

 encouragement as not. On they went full cry, at a most 

 determined pace, when, wonderful to relate. Chaw instead of 

 riding at their sterns, got round them, and with uplifted whip 

 was about commencing operations, when the horse, unused to 

 such a charge, suddenly stopped short ; Chaw pitched over its 

 head ; away went the horse with the hounds full cry after it, for 

 two miles, when fortunately or unfortunately, according to the 

 value of the respective animals, a flock of sheep interposed, or 

 as Soup deposed, he verily believed they would have eaten horse 

 saddle and all. As it was, they compounded by taking several 

 saddles ofmutton. This, it may be said, might have happened 

 to any pack; indeed, Beckford relates a somewhat similar 

 accident with his hounds, owing to the falling off of a whipper- 

 in at exercise ; but it is nevertheless perfectly true, that an 

 acquaintance with harriers unfits a man for appreciating the 

 discipline requisite for foxhounds. They think too lightly of it. 

 They are like a friend of ours, who being asked if he thought he 

 could edit a Newspaper, replied " he thought any old woman in 

 their workhouse could do that." 



Huntsmen are well aware of the feeling of harrier huntsmen, 

 and some of them seem to take a pleasure in selling an innocent 

 a bargain. We once overheard a dialogue between a young 

 scratch pack gentleman Huntsman and a top-sawyer, which 

 concluded by the young one, after sundry sporting and pertinent 

 questions about a draft he had recently got, saying, he " sup- 

 posed they had never worried sheep." ''Oh, no, sir," replied the 

 Huntsman with a shake of his head and touch of his cap, 

 adding, sotto voce, to a friend at his side, " but tlicy d — d soon 

 wilir 



A " real tool," or " cake," of a Huntsman is a thing one 



