MY HOUNDS 20 



collision was inevitable. To try to escape it I pulled my horse 

 as close to one of the banks as 'possible, and slackened speed to 

 the extent the brief passage of events would admit of, but in 

 vain. I saw the glaring eyes of the stag fix on me with that 

 peculiar lopping to the front of the ears which always portends 

 a charge ; and on he came, meeting the chest of Jack with one 

 of his horns, knocking my horse on his tail, and himself over, 

 rolling away past my right foot. Jack did not seem at the time 

 much hurt, and the stag rose as well as ever ere a hound could 

 reach him, and on we went again till the beaten deer plunged 

 into a pond at the top of the lane, and was safely taken. The 

 stag secured, my eyes fell on the chest of my favourite hoi'se, 

 and there I beheld the skin distended with extravasated blood, 

 and hanging down to the extent of a moderate milch cow's 

 udder. The accident to my favourite grieved me much, and it 

 was six weeks or two months before Mr. Sewell, the veterinary 

 surgeon, enabled him to take the field again. 



Having described my horses, the hounds must now be looked 

 into. They were almost all bred at Berkeley Castle, and, con- 

 sequently, were of the full foxhound blood, and consisted of 

 about thirty couples, for hunting twice a week. I hate to take 

 out less than twenty couples for either deer or fox, because to 

 my ear there is something delightful in the cry of that full 

 number. It is absolutely necessary to have as strong a force for 

 a fox, in case the hounds divide ; if twelve or thirteen couples 

 only are out, or six or seven, as I have seen Mr. Drax attempt 

 to hunt a fox with, the huntsman, if a division takes place, has 

 nothing left wherewith to kill a fox. It is possible that you 

 may go out with a weak pack of even nine or ten couples, and 

 circumstances happen that will favour a fox's death; but to 

 go out, and for a huntsman to feel that he is equal to meet any 

 contretemps or adverse fact, he should have twenty couples of 

 hounds and a second horse. It was always my endeavom- to 

 make the stag-hunt resemble a fox-hunt as much as possible. I 

 never stopped the pack unless they had come into an early 

 view of the deer, nor refrained fi-om making the hounds as 



