122 OF THE HUNTSMAN. 



LETTER IX. 



The variety of questions which you are pleased 

 to ask concerning the huntsman will be better 

 answered, I think, when we are on the subject 

 of hunting. In the mean time, I will endeavour 

 to describe what a good huntsman should be. 

 He should be young, strong and active, bold 

 and enterprising ; fond of the diversion, and in- 

 defatigable in the pursuit of it : he should be 

 sensible and good tempered ; he ought also to 

 be sober : he should be exact, civil, and cleanly . 

 he should be a good horseman, and a good 

 groom : his voice should be strong and clear, 

 and he should have an eye so quick, as to 

 perceive which of his hounds carries the scent 

 when all are running; and should have so ex- 

 cellent an ear, as always to distinguish the fore- 

 most hounds when he does not see them. He 

 should be quiet, patient, and without conceit. 

 Such are the excellencies which constitute a 

 good huntsman : he should not, however, be 

 too fond of displaying them till necessity calls 



