272 THE BEAGLE, THE HARRIER, 



do ; nor could it please you, if it would. Take 

 away the spirit of fox-hunting, and it is no 

 longer fox-hunting ; it is stale small beer com- 

 pared to brisk champaign. You would also find 

 in it more fatigue than pleasure. It is said, 

 there is a pleasure in being mad which only 

 madmen know ; and it is the enthusiasm, I 

 believe, of fox-hunting which is its best sup- 

 port : strip it of that, and you then, I think, 

 had better let it quite alone. 



The hounds themselves also differ in their 

 manner of hunting. The beagle, who has 

 always his nose to the ground, will puzzle an 

 hour on one spot sooner than he will leave the 

 scent ; while the fox-hound, full of life and 

 spirit, is always dashing and trying forward. A 

 high-bred fox-hound, therefore, shows himself 

 to most advantage when foxes are at their 

 strongest, and run an end. A pack of harriers 

 will kill a cub better, perhaps, than a pack of 

 fox-hounds ; but when foxes are strong, they 

 have not the method of getting on with the 

 scent which fox-hounds have, and generally tire 

 themselves before the fox. To kill foxes when 

 they are strong, hounds must run^ as well as 

 hunt ; besides, the catching of a fox by hard 

 running is always preferred, in the opinion of 



