166 REMINISCENCES, ETC. 



parishioner. Whenever any hound in Mr. Smith's pack 

 misbehaved himself, he was handed back to Carter's aca- 

 demy. The pack, which, as " the Grafton," were notorious 

 for being hard-runners, improved wonderfully under the 

 judicious management of Carter ; and when in his latter 

 years he was left to breed them according to his own 

 selection of sires, they became more level to the eye, and, 

 like the sisters described by the poet, — 



Facies non omnibus una, 

 Nee di versa tamen, qualem decet esse sororum. — OviD. 



Mr. Smith was much pleased with an original expression 

 of Carter's, who liked to see his hounds draw a covert clean, 

 and as much in line as possible. Mr. Smith finding him 

 once not very well pleased, asked him what was the matter. 

 " If you please, sir," said he, " they are zedding " (a word 

 of his own signifying a zigzag line) " about after their fox." 

 George was not a dashing rider, but was seldom far from 

 his hounds. It was his favourite remark, " / ride to hunt ; 

 master hunts to ride.'' In the last days of the poor old 

 squire, he sometimes came out and hunted Carter's pack, 

 which a Wiltshire farmer observing, remarked to his com- 

 panion : " They be at it double handed'^ to-day, neighbour ; 

 how's that ?" " Why," replied the other, " Carter, he finds 

 the fOx ; and our squire, he loses 'un." 



No man ever displayed more patience and temper with 

 young hounds than Carter. When a puppy spoke there 

 was no rating, and when a fox was viewed at finding, there 

 was no hallooing ; all was done quietly. As a rule. Carter 

 held that you could not, in a close-lying large covert, say too 

 much in cheering hounds before a fox was afoot, or too little 

 afterwards. He once did a clever thing under Doyly large 

 covert. The hounds had been running hard for some time, 



• Double-handed is a term used by farmers when very busy in their 

 harvest, at which period two pitchers and two loaders are used. 



