AND OF THE PACK. 281 



I know of no fault so bad in a hound as that 

 of running false ; it should never be forgiven : 

 such as are not stout, that are stiff-nosed, or 

 that have other faults, may at times do good, 

 and at their worst may do no harm ; whilst 

 such as run false, most probably, will spoil 

 your sport. A hound capable of spoiling one 

 day's sport is scarcely worth your keeping. In- 

 different ones, such as I have above described, 

 may be kept till you have better to supply their 

 places. 



A huntsman should know how to marshal 

 every hound in his pack, giving to each his 

 proper rank and precedence ; for, without this 

 knowledge, it is not possible he should make 

 a large draft, as he ought. There are, in most 

 packs, some hounds that assist but little in kill- 

 ing the fox ; and it is the judicious drafting off 

 of such hounds that is a certain sign of a good 

 huntsman. 



My huntsman is very exact : he carries al- 

 ways a list of his hounds in his .pocket, and 

 when in a distant country, he looks it over 

 to see if any of them are missing. He has 

 also a book, in which he keeps a regular ac- 

 count where every fox is found, and where he 

 is killed. 



