SPORTSMAN 189 



away on good terms with him ; and they may after- 

 wards find a bad fox when they ought to be going 

 home. 



On arriving at the place of meeting, men had 

 better say all they have to say to the master of the 

 hounds, or to the huntsman ; for if they attempt it 

 after they have thrown off, they may fancy they 

 have not been treated with common civility. 

 Nothing is more annoying than for either of these, 

 particularly the huntsman, to feel obhged to answer 

 questions of any sort after throwing off; for al- 

 though he may appear not to have anything on his 

 mind, he either is, or ought to be, thinking how to 

 show a good day's sport. For instance, he has just 

 drawn a cover blank, and is waiting for a hound or 

 two left back, or some other cause, and appears 

 then to be at leisure to talk or answer questions : 

 not so, his mind is, or ought to be, occupied in 

 thinking which is the next cover likely, which the 

 best way to it, so as to get the wind, and at the 

 same time to enable him to get to the best laying 

 in it for his fox ; or he may be considering how such 

 or such a hound behaves, whether fond of riot, or 

 what not ; or waiting to give some order to the 

 whipper-in. No huntsman is free to think of any- 

 thing else ; and therefore, when any person asks him 



