THE HUNTED FOX. 189 



You think me too severe on skirters. I must 

 confess that I have but one objection to them, 

 and it is this : I have constantly seen them do 

 more harm than good. 



Changing from the hunted fox to a fresh one, 

 is one of the worst accidents that can happen to 

 a pack of fox-hounds; and it requires all the 

 observation and all the ingenuity that man is 

 capable of, to guard against it. Could a fox- 

 hound distinguish a hunted fox, as the deer- 

 hound does the deer that is blown, fox-hunting 

 would then be perfect. There are certain rules 

 that ought to be observed by huntsmen. A 

 huntsman should always listen to his hounds, 

 whilst they are running in cover : he should be 

 particularly attentive to the head hounds, and 

 he should be constantly on his guard against a 

 skirter; for if there are two scents, he must be 

 wrong. Generally speaking, the best scent is 

 least likely to be that of the hunted fox ; and 



would be prejudicial to them. The critic seems to allude 

 to a well-known fable of^sop, but is not very happy in 

 the application. He has also misquoted the passage — the 

 author does not say tire, but tie upon the scent. Good 

 hounds, when they become aged, are liable to the first; 

 bad ones only are guilty of the last. In either case, death 

 is not meant as a punishment, nor is it considered as a 

 misfortune. — Vide Monthly Review, 



