OF FOXES CENSURED. 295 



kennel door, did it ascertain with more precision 

 the goodness of the hounds : which may more 

 justly be known from the few foxes they lose, 

 than from the number that they kill. When 

 you inquire after a pack of fox-hounds, whether 

 they are good or not, and are told they seldom 

 miss a fox, your mind is perfectly satisfied 

 about them, and you inquire no further : — it is 

 not always so, when you are told the number of 

 foxes they have killed. If you ask a Frenchman 

 what age he is of, he will tell you that he is in 

 good health. In like manner, when I am asked 

 how many brace of foxes my hounds have 

 killed, I feel myself inclined to say, the hounds 

 are good ; an answer which, in my opinion, goes 

 more immediately to the spirit of the question 

 than any other I could give; since the number 

 of foxes' heads is at best but a presumptive 

 proof of the goodness of the hounds. In a 

 neighbouring country to mine, foxes are diffi- 

 cult to kill, and not easy to find ; and the gen- 

 tlemen who hunt that country are very well 

 contented when they kill a dozen brace of foxes 

 in a season. My hounds kill double that num- 

 ber : ought it to be inferred from thence that 

 they are twice as good ? 



All countries are not equally favourable to 



