[ 181 ] 



quick, and his judgment so strong, that he 

 seldom erred in his decisions ; and thus, 

 through the whole of his kennel, he could 

 discover and fully explain the distinct cha- 

 racter of every hound. To their health, 

 condition, legs, and feet, he was particularly 

 attentive, and watched them with strict 

 attention ; as he found by experience, that 

 a defect in any one of them made a ma- 

 terial alteration in their performances in 

 the field, — observing, drily, that you could 

 not play upon an instrument out of tune. 

 Perfect legs and feet, with tolerable sym- 

 metry, were his great objects to begin 

 with ; he was rather partial to large hounds, 

 but he never drafted a small one that he 

 liked, which made his pack less sightly than 

 was generally admired ; but as he built all 

 his foundation of merit upon power, he 

 was less anxious as to appearances. In the 

 latter years of his life he always saw the 

 pack drawn out for hunting; and on his 



