THOUGHTS UPON HUNTING. 293 



LETTER XXL 



YOUR huntsman, 5^ou sa}', has hunted a pack of har- 

 riers : it might have been better, perhaps, had he never 

 seen one 3 since fox-hunting and hare-hunting differ almost 

 in every particular; — so miich, that I think it might not be 

 an improper negative definition of fox-hunting to say, it is, 

 of ^// huntings that which resembles hare-hunting the least. 

 A good huntsman to a pack of harriers, seldom succeeds in 

 fox-hunting : — like old hounds, they dwell upon the scent, 

 and cannot get forward ; nor do they ever make a bold cast ; 

 so much are they afraid of leaving the scent behind them. 

 Kence ic is, that they poke about, and try the same place 

 ten times over, rather than leave it ; and, when they do, 

 are totally at a loss which way to go, for want of know- 

 ing the nature of the animal they are in pursuit of. 

 As hare-hounds should scarcely ever be casf, halloo'd, or 

 taken off their noses, hare-hunters are too apt to hunt their 



