146 THE HUNTSMAN. 



taking his own dinner, and not leave them to the 

 kennel-man and whipper-in. There is no objec- 

 tion to his horse being brought to his door on the 

 hunting morning, and I approve of every mark of 

 deference shown bj the subordinates of the estab- 

 lishment to a man of his high calling. This is 

 as it should be — he is one in authority, although 

 under authority also ; but the modus in rebus 

 must not be overlooked either ; and I call it con- 

 ceit, almost amounting to impertinence, in any 

 huntsman dismounting at his kennel door, and 

 after giving his horse to the helper, handing over 

 his hounds to the feeder for the night, without 

 condescending to bestow upon them any further 

 trouble. Solomon thought it a great misfortune 

 for any people to have a child for their king ; no 

 less misfortune is it to a hunting establishment 

 when its Master is an infant in knowledge of the 

 noble science. 



There are many huntsmen of established repu- 

 tation w^ho will take as great, perhaps greater, 

 interest in the welfare of their hounds than the 

 Master himself, and the entire management of the 

 pack may be safely entrusted to their care ; their 

 credit is at stake wdien anything is amiss, inde- 

 pendent of the interest they really feel in their 

 hounds. But there are others of a different cha- 



