8o THE SPORT OF KINGS 



other ; perhaps the huntsman, who was a good 

 man, was too much inclined to listen to the critics, 

 who are broken-hearted if they see a brace of 

 foxes killed. At any rate he did not half kill the 

 cubs in this great woodland, and the consequence 

 was that when the regular season began there was 

 such a multitude of foxes in it that hounds kept 

 changing from one fox to another throughout the 

 day, and never got away. Then did these gentle- 

 men, and indeed every one, go home as soon as it 

 was mentioned that the wood was to be drawn. 

 A new man came, one that was most persevering 

 in killing foxes at all times and on all occasions, 

 a real " bloodthirsty huntsman," in fact. And here 

 let me remark that if you want an average of good 

 sport you must have a bloodthirsty huntsman and 

 bloodthirsty hounds, or you won't get it. Well, 

 the new man came, and he took his hounds 

 morning after morning into this wood, seldom 

 letting it rest a week, and he killed several brace 

 of foxes out of it. Of course the number of foxes 

 that he had really killed was magnified, but I 

 believe that he got hold of about thirteen or 

 fourteen brace. " Oh," said the grumblers and 

 critics, " this isn't sport. He chops foxes up like 

 rabbit catching. He has been here I don't know 

 how many mornings, and killed sixteen or seventeen 

 brace of foxes ; murdered them, sir ! murdered 

 them wholesale, and now there won't be a fox in 

 the wood." It is always advisable to keep a*sharp 

 look-out whenever a man tells you that foxes are 

 scarce, and at any rate I thought it best to have 

 " my eyes skinned " when hounds were drawing a 

 covert which had been so well rattled, and it was 

 well I did so, for no sooner were hounds put into 



