276 DIFFEEENCE BETWEEN FOX 



with fox-hunting; slackness in the men occa- 

 sions slackness in the hounds ; and one may 

 see, by the manner in which hounds hunt, 

 what kind of men they have been accustomed 

 to. The speediest hounds may, by degrees, 

 be rendered slow ; and it is impossible for 

 the best to do their business as they ought, 

 unless they are followed with life and spirit. 

 Such men as are slack themselves will be al- 

 ways afraid of hurrying their hounds too 

 much; and by carrying this humour too far, 

 commit a fault which has nothing to excuse 

 it. The best method to hunt a fox, they say, 

 is never, on any account, to cast the hounds ; 

 but, on the contrary, to let them tie upon 

 the scent as long as they will, and that they 

 will hit it off at last. I agree with them 

 partly : it certainly must be the best method 

 to hunt a fox, for by this means you may 

 hunt him from morning till night ; and if 

 you have the luck to find him, may hunt 

 him again the next day : the likeliest method, 

 however, to catch him, is to take every ad- 

 vantage of him you can. 



All hounds go fast enough with a good 

 scent; but it is the particular excellence of a 

 fox-hound, when rightly managed, to get on 



