THE STAG HOUND 137 



the scene of any signal exploit in the neighbourhood of 

 Windsor. But still we have always had a Garland or two 

 about the place, and a tliick-shonldercd, throaty hound called 

 Cardigan twice gained a reprieve from transportation to 

 France by hitting off a cold line on the hard high road. It 

 is worth remarking here that such a lover of a good-looking 

 hound as the late Mr. Smith, who not only knew how to hunt 

 hounds but also how to draw a hound, rather agrees with the 

 French critics I shall refer to later on, who think that in 

 our rage for pace and shape w^e sacrificed nose. ' A throaty 

 hound,' says Mr. Smith, ' is now rarely seen in a pack, 

 although very common some years ago, when men thought 

 more of hunting than of riding ; but by getting rid of the 

 throat the nose has gone with it, for a throaty hound 

 has invariably a good nose ; and that hounds were so until 

 the end of the last century, nearly all sporting pictures of 

 hounds will prove.' This reminds me of a story told me 

 of George Carter, for many years huntsman of the Fitz- 

 william, and a famous hound-breeder. Hounds could 

 scarcely feel a line on some dusty fallows when a throaty 

 hound called Remus opened with decision, and held the 

 line across the furrows. Carter cheered him to the echo. 

 ' Yooi Eemus, I'll give you a bitch for that ! ' 



Speed and drive are the first things to think about in 

 a hound to hunt the carted deer. These are all-important. 

 It is true that draft as you may, and draft as I did for speed 

 and dash, every hound cannot go in front. In the nature of 

 things that is impossible. Even running at a strong head, 

 hounds make their little mistakes and suffer their little ill 

 fortunes which are constantly changing their order in the 

 pack. But in a pack of twelve couple — in my opinion the 

 right sort of number for stag-hunting with a large field of 

 horsemen — every hound should be fast enough to stay in 



