308 THOUGHTS UPON HUNTING. 



*' good a fportfrnan for that." — So much for the 

 hone ft farmer. 



In the country where I live moft of the gentle^ 

 men are fportfmcn ; and even thofe who are not, 

 Ihew every kind of attention to thofe who arc ; I 

 am forry it is otherwife with you : and that your 

 old gouty neighbour fhould deftroy your foxes, I 

 muit own, concerns me. I know fonie gentle- 

 men, wlio, when a neighbour had deftroycd all 

 their foxes, and thereby prevented them from pur- 

 fuing a favourite amufcment, loaded a cart with 

 ipaniels, and went all together and deftroycd hi& 

 pheafants. I think they might have called this, 

 very properly, lex ialionis, and it had the defired 

 efFe6t ; for as the gentleman did not think it pru- 

 dent to fight them ail, he took the wiler method^, 

 he made peace with them. He gave an order 

 that no more foxes fhould be deftroycd, and they 

 jKiever afterwards killed any of his pheal'ants. 



LET. 



