THE HUNTSMAN'S POINT OF VIEW 205 



callin' the 'ounds by name to let them see I knew 

 them." How many modern Masters of Hounds 

 imitate the example of the immortal grocer. Chatting 

 with Scott about a certain M.F.H. I said, " But surely 

 he knows something of kennel-lore ! " And Scott 

 replied, " He don't even know the names of his own 

 hounds." 



To a huntsman, as to a poet, we may apply the 

 motto, nascitur, non fit. There have not been many 

 Masters of Hounds who were born huntsmen. To be 

 a huntsman you must possess the confidence and the 

 obedience of your hounds. Nature must have endowed 

 you with a magnetic influence over dumb animals. 

 So far as I am aware, no reliable scientific explanation 

 has ever been given of this magnetic influence. Why 

 should Herr Seeth, like a modern Daniel, be able to 

 walk about with impunity in a lions' den ? Why was 

 it that the young apprentice, Herbert Jones, was the 

 only jockey who could ride Diamond Jubilee, or that 

 Mr. E. P. Wilson was the only rider who could steer 

 Roquefort across a country ? Why, cceteris paribus, 

 should hounds obey one man more than another ? 

 Masters of Hounds are too prone to ignore the last 

 question. They forget that no man could possibly 

 rise to the position of a professional huntsman unless 

 he had proved, during the days of his stable and kennel 

 boyhood, that there was a mutual affection between 

 him and hounds. There can be no doubt but that to 

 a large extent this magnetic influence is hereditary, 

 though, of course, early associations have much to do 

 with it. Still, the fact remains that the children of hunts- 



