118 OBSERVATIONS ON FOX-HUNTING 



make hounds sufficiently steady to hunt nothing 

 but a fox-scent ; they fancy if a pack were to 

 enter a covert, they would destroy every living 

 animal in it. 



As a proof of what I have stated, I had about 

 ten couples of old fox-hounds sent to me from 

 a friend in England, to forward to a gentleman 

 who was in Paris. As they were not sent for 

 immediately after their arrival, I thought I wovild 

 endeavour to kill a French fox with them. I 

 requested permission of several owners of coverts 

 to hunt but was refused, on account of the hares 

 and rabbits, which they said the hounds would 

 kill ; I however got permission of the Duke de 

 Albufera, (Suchet), at Tankerville ; our turn out 

 was not very splendid, I was mounted on a Nor- 

 man mare, and borrowed a cow's horn from a 



farmer ; Mr. A and Mr. C were my 



whipper's-in. At the covert we were met by the 

 Duke's keepers in their state liveries, and we 

 began immediately " yoiks, wind him, my boys." 

 It being a cold dry March day, and the earths 

 imperfectly stopped, we did not find, although 

 I knew there were plenty of foxes. Every time 

 a hare or rabbit got up before the hounds, the 

 keepers exclaimed " Sucre bleu, les chiens Anghis 

 are good for nothing, they will not hunt either 

 hares or rabbits ! " To give you a further idea 



