164< SILENCE WHEN DKAWIXG. 



Now let your huntsman throw in his hounds 

 as quietly as he can, and let the two whippers- 

 in keep wide of him on either hand, so that a 

 single hound may not escape them ; let them 

 be attentive to his halloo, and be ready to en- 

 courage or rate, as that directs ; he will, of 

 course, draw up the wind, for reasons which I 

 shall give in another place. Now if you can 

 keep your brother sportsmen in order, and put 

 any discretion into them, you are in luck ; 

 they more frequently do harm than good : if 

 it be possible, persuade those who wish to halloo 

 the fox oflP to stand quiet under the cover side, 

 and on no account to halloo him too soon ; if 

 they do, he most certainly will turn back again : 

 could you entice them all into the cover, your 

 sport, in all probability, would not be the worse 

 for it. 



How well the hounds spread the cover ! — 

 the huntsman, you see, is quite deserted, and 

 his horse, which so lately had a crowd at his 

 heels, has not now one attendant left. How 

 steadily they draw ! — you hear not a single 

 hound, yet none are idle. Is not this better 

 than to be subject to continual disappoint- 

 ment, from the eternal babbling of unsteady 

 hounds.'' 



