BECKFORD c.v HAKE-HUNTING. 305 



sensible how far they brought the scent, know where they left it, and are eagerly anxious 

 to recover it. Much at this moment depends upon the temper, patience, and skill of the 

 huntsman, who should be attached to the sport and indefatigable in the pursuit of it ; he 

 should be sensible, good-tempered, sober, exact, and cleanly, a good groom, and an excellent 

 horseman ; his voice should be strong and clear, with an eye so quick as to perceive which 

 of his hounds carry the scent when all are running, and where they throw up ; as well 

 as an ear so excellent, as always to distinguish the leading hounds when he does not see 

 them. Such are the qualities that constitute perfection in a huntsman ; he should not, how- 

 ever, be too fond of displaying them, till called forth by necessity ; it being a peculiar 

 and distinguishing trait in his province to let the hounds alone whilst they can hunt, and 

 strenuously to assist them when they cannot. 



" It has been before observed, that when a hare is found, she cannot be permitted to 

 steal away too silently before the hounds ; her own extreme timidity frequently occasions 

 her heading, and the pack are so repeatedly liable to overrun the scent. The huntsman, 

 by not pressing too close upon the hounds himself, will keep the company at a proper dis- 

 tance also, and when they are thus left to a proper and free use of their own faculties, 

 they are but little likely to over-run it much." Mr. Beckford, whose judgment and celebrity 

 is so universally known and so frequently mentioned, has something so applicable and truly 

 just in almost every page upon this subject, that it is impossible to resist the temptation 

 of quoting a few occasional passages where the intentional purport is so emphatically 

 expressed. 



" High-bred, spirited Harriers should never be too much pressed upon by horsemen in 

 the chase, or too much encouraged at a check ; for their natural eagerness in the former, 

 and their disappointment in the latter, will, at such a time, frequently carry them wide of 

 the scent beyond a possibility of recovery, and this should, of course, be guarded against as 

 much as circumstances will permit. On high-roads and footpaths a too hasty reliance 

 must not be made ; but when a hit is made on either side, the hounds cannot be encouraged 

 too much. A hare generally describes a circle as she runs, larger or lesser in extent 

 according to her own strength and the nature of the country she is hunted in. In enclo- 

 sures intersected with small coverts, those circles are so small that it is an almost constant 

 puzzle to the hounds. 



" A hare will, it is well known, after running a path some considerable distance, make 

 a double, and then stop till the hounds have passed her ; she will then steal away secretly, 

 and return the same way she came. This is the most arduous trial for hounds ; it is so hot 

 a foil that, in the best packs, there are not many hounds that can hunt it ; those who can 

 should be attended to, and an endeavour made to hit her off where she breaks her foil, 

 which she will soon do when she thinks herself secure, except it is in covert, when the 

 scent lies bad, and then she sometimes absolutely seems to hunt the hounds. In a favour- 

 able day for hunting, hounds seldom give up the scent at head ; if they do, there is generally 

 a palpable reason for it ; and this, those who hunt the hounds should be careful to observe, 

 as by it alone they will be the better qualified to make their cast. If the huntsman be of a 

 superior description, he will attend as he goes not only to his hounds (minutely observing 

 which have the lead and what scent they carry), but also to the various circumstances 

 attendant upon sudden changes of the weather and difference of soil. He will also be mindful 

 of the distance she keeps before the hounds, recollect her former doubles, and the point she 

 principally makes to. 

 39 



