EXCELLENCE IN HUNTSMEN. 269 



vigour, is the excellence of a good kennel hunts- 

 man ;* if, besides this, he makes his hounds 

 both love and fear him ; if he is active, and 

 presses them on whilst the scent is good, always 

 aiming to keep as near to the fox as he can ; if, 

 when his hounds are at fault, he makes his cast 

 with judgment, not casting the wrong way first, 

 and blundering on the right at last, as many do : 

 if, added to this, he is patient and persevering, 

 never giving up a fox whilst there remains a 

 chance of killing him, he then is a perfect 

 huntsman. 



Did I not know your love of this diversion, I 

 should think, by this time, I must have tired 

 you completely. You are not particular, how- 

 ever, in your partiality to it ; for to show you 



* To make the most of a pack of hounds, and bring them 

 into the field in their fullest vigour, is an excellence that 

 huntsmen are very deficient in. To obtain a knowledge of 

 the different constitutions of so many animals, requires* 

 more discernment than most of them are endowed with. 

 To apply that knowledge, by making separate drafts when 

 they feed them, would also take up more time than they 

 choose to bestow : hence it is that they generally are fed 

 all together : — they may be well fed, but I much doubt 

 whether they are ever made the most of; such as require 

 to be fed a little at a time and often, must, I believe, be con- 

 tented with a little only. Few huntsmen seem fond of their 

 hounds ; one reason of it, perhaps, may be, that they are 

 paid for looking after them. 



