Thoughts upon hare and fox hunting : in a series of letters to a friend ... also an account of the most celebrated dog kennels in the kingdom

JOHNA.SEAVERNS

o

THOUGHTS

UPON

HARE AND FOX

HUNTING,

IN A

SERIES OF LETTERS TO A FRIEND,

IN •WHICH ARE GIVEN

Ample directions for. erecting a kennel, thb

management of hounds, and the duties

and (qualifications necessary for.

the huntsman and whipper-in,

ALSO

AN ACCOUNT

OF 7 HE

Mofl Celebrated Dog Kennels in the Kingdom.

Illui^ratcd with twenty beautiful Engravings.

Bv PETEPv BECKFORD, Esq,

' Si quid novifti rcflius illi<;,

Candidus imperti : fi non, his uteie mecum, HoK,"

A NEW EDITION;

LONDON;

Printed for. ternor and hood, birchin lane,
cornhill. 1796.

ADVERTISEMENT.

npKE Publi filers of the prefent Edition of
this much-admired Treatife upon Hunt^
i?ig feel themfelves impelled to Hate candidly,
but briefly, the motives which induced them
to undertake it.

That moft fportfmen who Were not already
poireffed of the former editions of this valua-
ble library of fportitig knowledge^ have been
defirous of procuring it, but fought for it in
vain, is a fad: well known to every fre-
quenter of the chace : the book, therefore,
meets the public eye in its prefent embellifhed
ftate, in confequence of repeated folicitations
from gentlemen in almoft every quarter of
the kingdom, accompanied with well-grounded
aflfu ranees from many of them^ that it would
by no means be difagreeable to Mr. Beckford*

A % Con-

IV ADVERTISEMENT.

Confcious of not being able to add to the
literary fame which the writer has acquired
by this pubhcation, they have confined them-
felves merely to the decorative, inferting only
fuch explanatory defcriptions of the plates as
appeared neceflary.

On the whole, they truft, that without
giving any offence to the ingenious author,
(the idea of which would be painful to them)
tkey have contributed not a little to the grati-
fication of every admirer of the cheerful and
manly amufements of the field.

PRE-

PREFACE.

A S the author of the followinv^ letters hath
been charged with inhumanity, and yet
conjedured to be a clergyman, it is now be-
come neceflary to publifh his name; and
though it may not be ufual to anfwer an ano-
nymous writer, yet, as it is not impoilible that
fome readers may have adopted his fentiments,
this confideration, and this alone, induces fhe
author to anfwer the objed:ions which the
critic hath fo wantonly made. Whatever may
be the imperfedion of thefe letters, the au-
thor is defirous that it fhould fall, as it ougnt,
upon himfelf only. The objedions, which
he thinks were unnecelTarily made, he has
endeavoured to remove. All intentional cruelty

A 3 he

VI PREFACE.

he entirely difclaims. His appeal from that
accufation hes to thofe whom he addrefTes as
his judges j not (as the critic may think) be-
caufe they are equally barbarous with himfelf,
but becaufe fportfmen only are competent to
decidca

CON-

CONTENTS.

LETTER I. Page i.

The fubjeB mtroduced — Himt'mg recommended not
only as an entertaining^ but alfo as a wJiolefome

exercife Cervantes^ and the SfeBator their

opinion of hunting — For whom thefe letters ar^
intended-— Explanation of the frontifpece*

LETTER n. Page 15.

The kennel defcrihed zvith all its parts,

LETTER in. Page 27.

Of hounds ill general — Hounds of the middle fi%e
recommended — AperfeB hound defcrihed — Skirt ers
difapp-oved of — Obje£iions to a large pack.

A 4 LET-

mn CONTENTS.

LETTER IV. Page ^7-

Pf feeding hounds, and managing them in the ken-;
neJ — Of fjie feeder — Cleanllnefs reccnimended—-:
Time of feeding lllfiuted to feverify.

LETTER V. Page t^^.

Of breeding hounds, and naming them — Of th^
treatment of whelps^ ivlicn firfi taken into^ the
kennel— Of rounding the7n, and fpaying hitches — -
Of the numher n&i:ejfary to keep up the flock-— A
lijl of names.

LETTER VL Page 76.

Of coupling young hounds, and breaking them fi'on^
Jlieep — Of entermg them — Befi method to mak^
them fieady — Kennel di/cipline ohje6fed to.

LETTER VII. Page 86.

The fame fubjeul continued — Hounds made handy by
being taken out often — Different methods of en-

lering young fox -hounds defer ibed Entering

them at the martin 'cat recommended — Entering
them at hare cenfured.

LET-

CONTENTS. iX

LETTER VIII. Page 107.

Of dijeafes and their rmedies — A curious frefcrip-
t'wn for the cure of the mange, either in man or
heafi — Ohfervations on madnefs.

LETTER IX. Page 122.

Pf the huntfman and whipper-in — Ohfervations ou
fcent.

LETTER X. Page 133.

Hare-hunting defcrihed in all its parts — Of hounds
heft fuited to that d'lverfion — Of the heji method

of hunting them Sportfmen not intentionally

cruel — Of the trial in a morniug — Of hare find-
ers A particular method of hare-hunting re-
lated— Curious advice about dr effing a hare.

LETTER XI. Page 145.

Hare-hunting continued — The many fliifts which a
hare makes dejcnbed — A hint to fuch fportfmen
as continue talking when their hounds are at fault
—Chopping hares cenfured \ dire^fions how to
frevefit it — Of the harmony of a pack — A hint
to fuch ffortfnmi as ride over their houtuls,

LET.

K CONTENTS.

. LETTER XIL Page 154.

Of a hare-warre?! — Tke hares how caught — Beji
method of turn'm<T them out — Hoiv a hare may ha
made to run Jirait — T'lme to leave off hare-hunt-^
'^^^§ — Ofjiag-hmting at Turin.

LETTER XIIL Page i6o.

The defcription of a fcx-chace attempted.

LETTER XIV. Page 170.

Remarks on the foregoing Utter — when an early
hour is neceffary — Some ohjh-vations on the draw-
ing of hounds — Bad fporffiuen defer ihed — A gen-
tlemans extraordinary hiovoledge of hunting —
To make hounds Jieady and draw well, recom-
mended— Much noife at finding a fox cenfured.

LETTER XV. Page 181.

Rcmarh on letter 1 3 continued- — Some direBions to
the huntfman and whipper-in — Of Jfile in killing a
fox — Of changing from otie fox to another — Rules
to he ohferved when this ]uippe?is — Some ohferva-
tions on the cafiifig of howuls — Riding too clofe
upon them cenfured.

LET-

CONTENTS. Xl

LETTER XVT. Page 191.

Remarks on letter 1 3 ^ill continued— Of TialJoos — >
Some remarkable inftances of tJiem — IVhen a fox
ought not to be given up — When a pack of fox-
hounds may be fuffered to try hack — Iflien fportf-
men ought to he filent — Method of treating a fox
defcribed — IVh-en it is the heft time to eat him.

LETTER XVn. Page 199.

^ digreffion in favour of fox-hunting — Fievj halloos,
whefi too frequently given, cenfured — Of flopping
the tail hounds, and throwing' them in at head —
Of fkirters, when they do hurt — A hint to thofe
•who follow hounds — IVhen foxes are in too great

plenty, how to difperfe ihe?n A Frenchnmns

opinion of a fox-chace,

LETTER XVlir. Page 209.

When an excellent whipper-in may be of more ufe
than an excellent huntfnan — Barbarity defined —
XJnneceffary feverity cenfured — Duty of a whip^
per-in — A perfe6l one defcribed — Of fteadinefs —
Of hounds that kill Jlieep — NeceJJity of obedience
'''—After hounds are made Jleady^ fonie caution
I required

Xil CONTENTS.

required to keep them Jo — A curious letter from a
huntj'manr

LETTER XIX. Page 227.

Mow a huntfman Jhould draw his hounds — Placing
hounds advantagcoujly , a 7ieccjfary part of fox-
hunting — When hounds do not hunt, how they

JJiould he fed — Of drafting hounds When a

huntfman ffioidd he after his time — JVhere foxes
like hefi to lie — When gentlemen may he of fervice
to hoiuids — Long drags, the objedion to them
— The fagacity of the huck-hound. accounted for
-—Correttion of hounds by the huntj]nan^ objected

to Hounds that wdl not leave a cover, how

treated — Of the good management of a pack of
fox -hounds^

LETTER XX. Pago 246.

Jim.v a himtfman fJionld cafi his hounds When

hounds had better be exercifed on the turnpike
road, tJian hunted — When it may be right to flop

the tad hozcnds, and throw tliem in at head

Huntfmen that are JIovj cenfured — When they

^ould be careful riot to run the heel When

hounds have many fcoits, how they Jhould be
managed — Of the heading back of foxes — What
i'jnjiitutes a perfect liun'jinan,

LET-

CONTENYSi Xlil

LETTER XXI. Page 266.

A hare-hunter an improper hunt/man I0 a pack of
fox-hoimds — The harrier and fox-hound, in what
they materially differ — Fitncfs ejfential to heauty
— Ho\!D fportfmen may he of fervice to tired
hounds — Of lotig days, the difad-vantage — The
life — Why a fox hound JJiould he ahove his work —
Much encouragement to hounds on had fcenting
daySy ohjeBedto — Of hounds that run falfe.

LETTER XXIL Page 278.

Blood nee effary to a pack of foci-hounds — -The like-
liefi method to procure it — Of accidents that hap-
pen in fox-hu?iting — Of the proper time to leave
off fox- hunting — A wanton deJlruBioyi of foxes

cenfured Inequality of fcent unfavourcdde to

hounds — An extraordinary character of a hunt/-
man.

. LETTER XXIIL Page 295.

Bag -foxes : fome objection to them — A fox- court re-
commended— Directions how cidis Jliould he treated
— Some caution nee effary in huying of foxes — Of
digging foxes — Badgers ohje^ed to — A method to
fiink an earth — Hozv hadgers may he caught — Of
terriers — Of dejiroying foxes — A remarkahle in-

fiance of the lex talionis^

LET-

%if CONTENTS^

LETTER XXIV. Page 309,

iSichje3 concluded — Some ohfefvaiions concerning the
management of a hunter — Remarks upon Jhoehig
• — Summer hunting ohje6fed to — P^irgd, Horace^
Pliny : their opinion of a country life — Hunting
not fo dangerous as it has been thought— 'Some
quotations from other authors.

Account of the moft celebrated dog-kennels, page
326.

tJlREC-

DIRECTIONS TO THE BINDER,

FOR PLACING THE

u r S.

F

Pa^^.

OX-Chace at, Caftlc Coombe To face Title,

Richard Fairbrotber - - - 131

Going out in the Morning - - 139

Finding the Hare - - - - 140

Trying for a Hare - - - - 145

HareinViciw ----- 146

Hitting her off at a Fault * - 147

Death of the Hare - - - - 151

Drawino; Cover - - - - i6a

Breaking Cover - - - - 163

In View - - - - - 1 65

At Fault - - - - - 167

The Death - - - - - 169

Earth flopping - - . - , 241

His Majefiy's Dog Kennel, at Afcot - 326

Swinley Lodge - - - - 3^9
Duke of Richmond's Dog Kennel, at

Goodwood - - - - 331
Duke of Bedford's Stables, &c. at Woo-

burn ----- 334
Sir William Rowley's Dog Kennel, at

Tendering Hall - - - - 336

Plaia of ditto - - * ' 33^^

THOUGHTS

UPON

N T I N G.

LETTER L

Briftol Hot-Wells, March 20, 1779.
'\7'OU could not have chofen, my friend, a
-*- better feafon than the prefent, to remind
me of lending you my Tiioughts upon Hunting;
for the accident that brought me hither is Hkely
to detain me fome time: belides, I have no
longer a plea for not obeying your commands.
Hitherto, indeed, I had excufed myfelf, in
hopes that fome publication on the fubjedl might
have rendered thefe letters needlefs; but lince
nothing of the kind, although fo much wanted,
has appeared, as I am now fufficiently unoccupied
to undertake the talk, I fhall not think it a tri-

B iiing

2 THOUGHTS UPON HUNTING.

fling fubjec'^, if you think it a neccltliry one:}
and I wifh my own experience of the diverlioii
may enable me to anfwer the many queftions
which you are pleafed to propofe concerning it. •

Knowing your partiality to rhyme, I could
wifh to fend you my thoughts in verfe; but as
this would take up more time, without anfwer-
ing your purpofe better, I mull: beg you to ac-
cept them in humble profe, which, in my opi-
nion, is better fuited to the fubjed. Dida6lic cf-
fays fhould be as little clogged as poflible; they
fliould proceed regularly and clearly ; fliould be
ealily written, and as eafily underflood, having
lefs to do with words than things. The game of
cramho is out of falhion, to the no fmall preju-
dice of the rhyming tribe; and before I could
find a rhyme io porringer, I fhould hope to finifli
a great part of thefe letters : I fhall therefore,
without farther delay, proceed upon them: this,
however, I mutt defire to be firft underflood be-
tween us; that when, to lave trouble to us both,
I fay a thing is, without tacking a falvo to the
tail of it, fuch as, in my opnion — to the hejl of 7ny
judgment, he. &c. — you ihall not call my humi-
lity in queftion, as the afTertion is not meant to
be mathematically certain. When I have any
better authority than my own, fuch as Somervile,
for inflance, (who, by the bye, is the only one
that has written intelligibly on this fubje6t) I

fhaU

THOUGHTS UPON HUNTING. ^

^all fake the liberty of giving it you in his own
words, to fave you the trouble of turning to
him*

You may remember, perhaps, that when we
were huntine: together at x urin, the hounds
having loft the ftag, and the piqueurs (ftill more
in fault than they) being ignorant which way to
try, the king hid theip. alk Milord Anglois. Nor
is it to be wondered at, if ^n Englifhman fhculd
be thought to underftand the art of hunting, as
the hounds which this country produces are uni-
verfally allowed to be the bcft in the world : from
whence T think this inference may be drawn, that
although every man who follows this diverlion
may not underftand it, yet it is extraordinary of
the many who do, that one only of any note
fhould have written on the fubject. It is rather
unfortunate for me that this ingenious fportfman
fhould have preferred writing an elegant poem to
an ufeful leftbn ; lince, if it had pleafed him, he
might eaftly have faved me the trouble of writing;
thefe letters. Is it not flrange in a country where
the prefs is in one continued labour with opi-
nions of almoft every kind, from the moft ferious
and inftrudiive to the moft ridiculous and tri-
fling; a country beftdes, fo famoAis for the beft:
hounds, and the beft horfes to follow them,
whofe authors fometimes hunt, and whofe fportf-
men fometimes write, that only the pradical part
B a of

'4 THOUGHTS UPON HUNTING.

of hunting fhould be known? There is, how-
ever, no doubt that the pradical part of it would
be improved, were it to be accompanied by
theory.

France, Germany, and Italy, are alfo iilenty
I beheve, on this lubjec^, though each of thefe
countries has had its fportfmen. Foxes, it is
Irne, they never hunt, and hares but feldom ;
yet the flag and wild boar, both in France and in
Germany, are flill purfued with the utmoft fplen-
dour and magnificence. In Italy there has been
no hunting lince the death of the Duke of Par-
ma : he was very fond of it, and I apprehend all
hunting in that country ceafed v/ith him. The
only fportfmen now remaining are gentlemen in
green coats, V'/ho taking their couieaux de chajfe
along with them, walk into the fields to catch
fmal thirds, ssX^xohXh^y c-^X andar ala cacc'ia^ or,
rn plain Englifh, going a hunting; yet it has not
been fo Vv'ith horfemanlhip; that has been treated
fcientifically by all — in Italy by Pignatelli — in
Germany by Ifenbourg — and in France by La
Guerinierc : nor are the ufeful leflbns of the
Duke of Newcaftle confined to this country only;
they are both read and pra61ifed every where;
nor is he the only noble lord who has written on
the fubje6t. While upon hunting, all are filent,
and were it not for the mufe of Somervile, who
has fo judicioufly and fo fwectly fung, the dog,.

tllAt

THOUGHTS UPON HUNTING, 5

that iifeful, that honeft, that faithful, that difin-
terelted, that entertaining animal, would be
fuffered to pafs unnoticed and undiflinguifhed.

A northern court once, indeed, did honour
this animal with a particular mark of approba-
tion and refpe^l; but the fidelity of the dog has
iince given place to tlie fagacity of the ele-
phant.* Naturalifts, it is true, have included
dogs in the fpecific defcriptions they have given
us of animals. Authors may liave written on
hunting, and bookfellers may know many that
to fportfmen are unknown; but I again repeat,
that I know not any writer, ancient or modern,
from the time of Nimrod to the prefent day (one
only excepted) who has given any ufeful infor-
mation to a fportfman.-^

It may be objected, that the hunting of a
pack of hounds depends upon the huntfman, and
that the huntfman, generally fpeaking, is an il-
literate fellow, who feldom can either read or
write: this cannot well be denied. I muft,
tlierefore, obferve, that it is impoffible for the
bull nets of a kennel to go on as it ought, unlefs

* Vide Mr. Pope's Letter to Mr. Cromwell.

t Many French authors have given rules for hunting the
"hare, and flag ; to make this paflage lefs exceptionable, there-
fore, it may be better perhaps, inftead ol fportjman.^ to read
fox-hunter.

B 3 the

€

THOUGHTS UPON HUNTING.

the mafter himfelf knows fomething of it. There
mull be an underftanding fomewhere, and with-
OLit it no gentleman can enjoy in perfection this
jioble diversion.

It was the opinion of a great fporttman, that
it is not lefs difficult to find 'i perfect huntfman,
than a good prime minifter. "Without taking
upon me to determine what requifites may be
neceffary to form a good prime minifter I- will
defcribe fome of thofe which arc effentially ne-
ceffary towards forming a perfc6l huntfman ;
qualities which, I will venture to fay, would not
difgrace more brilliant fituations : fuch as a clear
head, nice obfervation, quick apprehenlionj un-
daunted courage, flrength of conftitution, a6li-
vity of body, a good car, and a good voice.

There is not any one branch of knowledge,
commonly digniiicd with the title of art, Vy'hich
has not fuch rudiments or principles, as m.ay lead
to a competent degree of fkill, if not to perfec-
tion, in it : whilft hunting, the fole bufinefs of
fome, and the amufement of moll of the youth
in this kingdom, feems left entirely to chance.
Its purfuit puts us, both to greater expence, and
^Ifo, to greater inconvenience than any other ;
yet, notwithftanding this, we truft our diverfior^
in it to the fole guidance of a huntfman : we
follow jull as he iliall chufe to conduct vis j and

THOUGHTS UPON HUNTIxVG. >?

we fufFer the fuccefs, or difappointment of the
chace to depend folely on the judgment of a fel-
low, who is frequently a greater brute than the
creature on which he rides. I would not be un-
derftood to mean by this, that a huntfman fhould
be a fcholar, or that every gentleman fhould
hunt his own hounds : it is not neceflary a huntf-
man fhould be a man of letters ; but give me
leave to obferve, that had he the bell undcrfj-and-
ing, he would frequently find opportunities of
exercising it, and intricacies whicli might put it
to the teft. You will fay, perhaps, there is fonie-
thing too laborious in the occupation of a huntf-
man for a gentleman to take it upon himfelf ;
you may alfo think it is beneath him ; I agree
with you in both — yet I hope that he may have
leave to underftand it. If he follow the diver-
lion, it is a lign of his liking it ; and if he like
it, furely it is fome difgrace to him to be ignorant
of the means mofh conducive to obtain it.

I find there will be no neceffity to fay much
in commendation of a diverfion to you, wdiich
you fo profefledly admire ;* it would be needlefs,

there-

* Since the above was written, hunting has undergone a
fevere cenfure, (vide iV'onthly Review for September, 1781)
nor will any thing fatisfy the critic lefs than its total abolidon.
He recommends feats of agility to be praftifed and exhibited
inftead of it. Whether the amendment propofed by the learned.

B 4 gentle-

,S THOUGHTS UpON HUKTINGa

therefore, to enumerate the heroes of antlqiiity
who were taught the art of hunting; or the
many great men (among whom was the famous
Galen) who have united in recommending it. I
fhall, however, remind you, that your heloved
hero, Henry the Fourth of France, made it his
chief amufement, and his very love letters, ftrange
as it may appear, are full of little elfe : and that
one of the greateft minifters which our own coun-
try ever produced, was fo fond of this diverfion,
that the firft letter he opened, as I have been
told> was generally that of his huntfman. — In
moft countries, from the earliefl times, hunting
has been a principal occupation of the people,
either for ufe or amufement ; and many princes
have made it their chief delight : a circumilance
which occafioncd the following hon mot. — Louis
the Fifteenth was fo paffionately fond of this di-
vertion, that it occupied him entirely ; the King
of Pruflia, who never hunts, gives up a great
deal of his time to mufic, and himfelf plays on
the flute : a German, lall war meeting a French-
gentleman be defirable or nof, I fliall forbear to determine ;
taking the liberty, however, to remind him, that as hunting
hath flood its ground from the earlieft times, been encouraged
and approved by the beft authorities, and praftifed by the
greateft men, it cannot now be fuppofed to dread criticifm, or
to need fupport. Hunting originates in nature itfelf, and it is
in perfed correfpondence to this law of nature, that the feve-
ral animals are provided with neceiTary means of attack and
defence.

THOUGHTS UPON HUNTING. ^

man, aiked him very impertinently, " Si/on ^naitrt
^' chajfo'it toujour sT'' " Ou'i^ out,'''' replied the other
— '^ il ne joue jamais de la jiute^'' — The reply was
excellent, but it would have been as well, per-
haps, for mankind, if that gi^eat man had never
been otherwife employed. — .Hunting is the foul
of a countrv life ; it gives heaUh to the body,
and contentment to the mind ; and is one of the
few pleafures we can enjoy in fociety, without
prejudice either to ourfelves, or our friends.

The Speculator has drawn with infinite humour
the chara6ler of a man who pafles his whole life
in purfuit of trifles ; and it is probable, other
Will Wimbles might ftill be foiind. I hope,
however, that he did not think they were con-
fined to the country only. Triiicrs there are of
every denomination. Are we not all triflers ?
and are we not told that all is vanity ? — The
Spectator, v/ithout doubt, felt great compallion
for Mr. Wimble ; yet Mr. Wimble miglit not
have been a proper object of it ; fince it is more
than probable he was a happy man, if the em-
ployment of his time in obliging others, and
plealing himfelf, can be thought to have made
him fo. — Whether vanity miflead us or not in the
choice of our purfuits, the pleafures or advan-
tages which refult from them, will heft determine,
—I fear the occupation of few gentlemen will
^dmit of nice fcrutiny ; occupations, therefore,

that

10 THOUGHTS UPON HUNTING*

that amufe, and are at the fame time innocent t
that promote exercife and conduce to health ;
tliough they may appear trifles in the eyes of
otherSj certainly are not fo to thofe wlio enjoy
them. Cf this nun:ber I think I may reckon
hunting ; and I am particularly glad the fame
author furnilhes a quotation in fupport of it;
" for my own part/' fays this elegant writer, " I
*' intend to hunt twice a week during my ftay
" with Sir Roger ; and fhall prcfcrihe the mo-
*' derate ufe of this exercife to all my country
^ friends, as the beft phytic for mending a bad
" conftitution, and preferving a good one." —
The inimitable Cervantes alfo honourably men-
tions this diverlion : he makes Sancho fay —
" Mercy on mc, what pleafure can yon find, any
" of ye all, in kilhng a poor bead: that never
'- meant any harm !" th;it the Duke may reply,
•.- — You are miltaken, Sancho; hunting wild
*' beafts is the moil proper exercife for knights
'^ and princes; for in the chace of a ftout noble
*' beafl, may be reprefcnted the whole art of
*^ war, ilratagems, policy, and ambul^ades, with
•' all other devices uliially praclifed to overcome
" an enemy with fafety. Here we are expofed
*^ to the extremities of heat and cold ; cafe and
** lazincfs can have no room in this diverlion ;
♦* by this we are inured to toil and hardfhip, our
**■■ limbs are ftrengthened, our joints made fupple,
*' and our whole body hale and active : in fhort.

THOUGHTS UPON HUNTING, I|

'* it is an exercife that may be beneficial to many,
^^ and can be prejudicial to none." — Small, in-
deed, is the number of thofe, who in the courfe
of 5000 years have employed themfelves in the
advancement of iifeful knowledge. Mankind
have been blell with but one Titus, that we
know of; and, it is to be feared, he has had but
few imitators. Days and years fly away, nor is
any account taken of them, and how many may
realbnably be fuppofed to pafs without affording
even amufement to others, or fatisfadion to our-
feives. Much more, I think, might be faid in
favour of the Wimbles ; but it muft be confeffed,
that the man who fpends his whole time in trifles,
pafies it contemptibly, compared with thofe who
are employed in refearches after knowledge ufeful
to mankind, or in profeffions ufeful to the flate.

I am glad to lind that you approve of the plan
I propofe to obferve in the courfe of thefe letters,
wherein it fhall be my endeavour not to omit
any thing which it may be necefTary for you to
know ; at leail, as far as my own obfervation
and experience will give me leave. The expe-
rience I have had may be of ufe to you at pre-
fent ; others, perhaps, hereafter may write more
judicioufly and more fully on the lubje6l : you.
know it is my interell to wifli they would. The
few who have written on hunting, refer you to
Ifheir predeceffors for great part of the informa-
tion

12 THOUGHTS UPON HUNTING.

tion you might expe6l from them ; and who their
predecelTors were I have yet to learn. Even So-
mervile is lefs copious than I could with, and
has purpofely omitted what is not to be found
clfewhere ; I mean receipts for the cure of fuch
difcafes as hounds are fubje6l to. He holds fuch
information cheap, and beneath his lofty mufe.
Profe has no excufe, and you may depend on
every information that I can give. The familiar
manner in which my thoughts will be conveyed
to you in thL'fe letters, may -fuffieiently evince
the intention of the author. They are written
with no other delign than to be of ufe to fportf-
men. Were my aim to amufe, I would not en-
deavour to inftriidl. A fong might fuit the pur-
^pofe better than an effay. To improve health
by promoting exercife ; to excite gentlemen who
are fond of hunting to obtain the knowledge
necefiary to enjoy it in perte6lion ; and to Icflcn
the punilTiments which are too often infli6^ed on
an animal fo friendly to man, are the chief ends
•intended by the following letters.

I fhall not pretend to lay down rules which
are to be equally good in every country ; I fhall
think myfelf fuihciently juftified in recommend-
ing fuch as have been tried with fnccefs in the
countries where I have generally hunted. As
almoft every country has a different dialed, you
will alfo excufe, I hope, any terms that may not

be

THOUGHTS UPON HUNTING, IJ

be current with you : I will take the beft care I
can that the number fhall be fmall. I need not,
I think, adviie you not to adopt too ealily the
opinions of other men. You will hear a tall man
lay it is folly to ridci any but large horfes ; and
every little man in company will immediately fell
his little horlcs, buy fuch as he can hardly
mount, and ride them in hilly countries, for
which they are totally unfit. Pride induces
fome men to dictate ; indolence makes others
like to be dictated to ; fo both parties find their
account in it. You will not let this miflead you.
You will dare to think for yourfelf. — Nor will
you believe every man who pretends to know
what you like better than you do yourfelf. There
is a degree of coxcombry, I believe, in every
thing : you have heard, I make no doubt, that
greyhounds are either black, or white, or black
and white ; and if you have any faith in thofe
wlio fay they know beft, they will tell you that
there are no others.* Prejudice, however, is by
far too blind a guide to be depended on.

I have read ibmewhere, that there is no book
fo bad, but a judicious reader may derive fome
advantage from the reading of it ; I hope thefe

* There is a fafliion in greyhounds: fonie couiTers even
pretend that all not being of the fafliionable colour are curs,
and not greyhounds. Grej-hound feems to be a corruption
from fome other ward— iriofl probably from gaze-hound.

J letters

l4 THOUGHTS UPON HUNTING.

letters will not prove the only exception. Shouli^
they fall into the hands of fach as are not fportf-
men, I need not, I think, make any excufes to
them for the contents, lince the title fufficiently
Hiews for whom they were defigned. Nor are
they meant for fuch fportfmen as need not in-
ilruc^ion, but for thofe that do; to whom, I
prefume, in fome parts at leall:, they may be
found of ufe. Since a great book has been long
looked upon as a great evil, I fhall take care not
to lin that way at leaft, and fliall endeavour to
make thefe letters as Ihort as the extent of my
fubje(5l will admit.

I ftiall now take my leave of you for the pre-
fent ; in my next letter I Ihall proceed according
to your defire, till I have anfwered all your quef-
tlons. Remember you are not to expe6t enter-
tainment ; I wifh that you may find fome in-
ftru6lion : the drynefs of the fubjedl may excufe
your want of the one, and I cannot doubt of your
indulgence, whilfL I am obeying your commands,
though /fhould fail in the other.

L E T^

THOUGHTS UPON HUNTING. j d

L E T T E R IL

C ^N'CE you intend to make liunting your chief
^^ amufemcnt in the country, you are certainly
in the right to give it fome confideration before
you begin, and not like Mafter Stephen in the
piny, firiz boy a hawk, and then hunt after a
book io keep it by. I am glad to find that you
intend to build a new kennel, and I flatter my-
felf the experience I have had may be of fome
ufe to you in building it : it is not only the iiril
thing that you fhould do, but it is alfo the motl
important. As often as your mind may alter, io
often may you eafily change from one kind of
hound to another ; but your kennel v/ill flill re-
main the fame ; will ftill keep its original ira-
perfed^ions, unlefs altered at a great expence ;
and be lefs perfect at laft than it might have been
made at firfi, had you purfued a proper plan.
It is true, hounds may be kept in barns and fta-
bles ; but thofe who keep them in fuch places can
bed inform you whether their hounds are capable
of anfvvering the purpofes for which they were
deiigned. The fenle of fmelling, the odora canian
rw, as Virgil calls it, is fo exquilite in a hound,
that I cannot but fuppofe every flench is hurtful
to it. It is that faculty on which all our hopes

depend;

X6 THOfGHTS ITPON HUNTING.

depend ; it is l/uii which mufl lead us o'er greafy
fallows, where the feet of the game we piirfue
being clogged leave little fcent behind, as well
as o'er ftony roads, through watery meads, and
where fheep have ilained the ground.

Cleanlincfs is not only abfolutely necefTary to
the nofe of the hound, but alfo to the preferva-
tion of his health. Dogs are naturally cleanly
animals ; they feldom, when they can help it,
dung where they lie ; air and frefh ftraw are ne-
ceflary to keep them healthy. They are fubje61: to
the mange ; a diforder to which poverty and
naliincfs will very much contribute. T/iis, though
eafily flopped at its firfl appearance, if fuffered
to continue long may leilcn the powers of the
animal ; and the remedies which are then to be
ufed, being in themfelves violent, mufl injure
his conftitution : it had better be prevented : let
the kennel, therefore, be an objedt of your par-
ticular care.

*' Upon fome little eminence ereft,

And fronting to the ruddy dawn ; its courts

On either hand wide opening to receive

The fun's all-checring beams, when mild he fhines,

And gilds the mountain tops."— — —

Let fuch as Somervile direcls be the lituation;
its fize muft be fuited to the number of its inha-
bitants; the architedlure of it maybe conformable

to

THOUGHTS UPON HUNTING. tj

to your own tafle. Ufelefs expence I fliould not
recommend; yet, as I fuppole you will often make
it a vilit, at leaft in the hunting feaibn, I could
wifh it might have neatnefs without, as well as
cleanlinefs within, the more to allure you to it ;
I fhould for the fame reafon wifh it to be as near
to your houfe as you will give it leave. I know
there are many objedtions to its being very near;
I forefee ftill more to its being at a diflance:
there is a vulgar faying, that it is the mailer's eye
that makes the horfe fat ; I can affure you it is
even more necefiary in the kennel, v/here clean-
linefs is not lefs effential than food.

There are, I make no doubt, many better
kennels than mine, feme of which you fhould
fee before you begin to build ; you can but make
ufe of my plan in cafe that you like no other
better. If, in the mean time, I am to give you
my opinion what a kennel ought to be, I mufl
fend you a defcription of my own, for I have
not feen many others.

I would advife you to make it large enough at
firft, as any addition afterwards muft fpoil the
appearance of it. I have been obliged to add to
mine, which was built from a plan of my own,
and intended, at firft, for a pack of beagles. My
feeding-yard being too fmall, I will endeavour to
remedy that defed in the defcription I fend you,

C which-

l8 THOUGHTS UPON HUNTING.

which may be ftill enlarged or leflened, as yen
think fit, or as your occafions may require. Thd
feeding troughs fhould be wide at the bottom,
and mull have wooden covers.

.1 think two kennels abfolutely neceflary to tlie
well-being of the hounds; when there is but
one, it is fcldom fweet ; and when cleaned out,
the hounds, particularly in winter, fufFer both
whilii it is cleaning, and as long as it remains
wet afterwards. To be more clearly underflood
by you, I fhall call one of thefc the himting-
kenneJ, by which I mean that kennel into which,
the hounds, intended to hunt the next day, are
drafted. Ufed always to the fame kennel, they
will be drafted with little trouble ; they will an-
fwer to their names more readily, and you may
count your hounds into the kennel with as much
eafe as a Ihepherd counts his flicep out of the
fold.

When the feeder firft comes to the kennel in a
morning, he fhould let out the hounds into the
outer court ; and in bad weather he fliould open
the door of the hunting-kennel, lefl: want of reft
fhould incline them to go into it. The lodging-
room fhould then be cleaned out, the doors and
windows of it opened, the litter fhaken up, and
the kennel made fweet and clean before the
hounds return to it again. The great court and

the

THOUGHTS UPON HUNTING. ig

the other kennels arc not lefs to be attended to,
nor fliould you pafs over in lilence any omiliion
that is hurtful to your hounds^

The floor of each lod£rinj2;-room fhould be
l)ricked, and floped on both fides to run to the
centre, with a gutter left to carry off the water,
that when they are wafhed they may be Iboti
dry. If water fhould remain through any fault
in the floor, it fhould be carefully mopped up ;
for as warmth is in the greatefl degree neceflary
to hounds after work, fo damps are equally pre-
judicial. You will think me, perhaps, too par-
ticular in thefe diredlions ; yet there can be no
harm in your knowing what your fervants ought
to do ; as it is not impolTible it may be fometimes
neceffary for you to fee that it is done. In your
military profellion you are perfectly acquainted
with the duty of a common foldier, and though
you have no further bulinefs with the minutise of
it, without doubt you ftill find the knowledge of
them ufeful to you : believe me, they may be
ufeful here ; and you will pardon me, I hope, if
1 wifh to fee you a Martinet in the kennel as
well as in the field. Orders given without fkill
are feldom well obeyed, and wiiere the mafier
is either ignorant, or inattentive, the fervant will
be idle.

€ % I alfo

SiiO THOUGHTS UPON HUNTING.

I alfo wifli that, contrary to the ufual pra^bice
in building kennels, you would have three doors;
two in the front, and one in the back ; the laft to
have a lattice-window in it, with a wooden fhut-
ter, which is conftantly to be kept clofed when
the hounds are in, except in fummcr, when it
fhould be left open all the day. This door an-
fwers two very neceffary pur]>ofes : it gives an
opportunity of carrying out the flraw when the
lodging-room is cleaned, and as it is oppofite ta
the window, will be a means to let in a tho-
rough air, which will greatly contribute to keep
it fweet and wholefomc. The other doors will
be of ufe in drying the room, when the hounds
are out ; and as one is to be kept fhut, and the
other hooked back, (allowing juft room for a dog
to pafs) they are not liable to any objection.
The great window in the centre fliould have a
folding-flmtter ; half, or the whole of which,
fnay be fhut at nights, according to the weather j
and your kennels by that means may be kept
warm or cool, jufl as you pleafe to have them.
The two great lodging-rooms are exadly alike,
and as each has a court belonging to it, are dif-
tin6l kennels, lituated at the oppolite ends of the
building ; in the centre of which is the boiling-
houfe and feeding-yard ; and on each tide a lefler
kennel, either for hounds that are drafted ofF,-
hounds that are Hck or lame, or for any other
purpofe, as occalion may require. At the back

of

THOUGHTS UPON HUNTING. 2 1

of which, as they are but half the depth of the
two great kennels, are places for coals, &c. for
the ufe of the kennel. There is alfo a fmall
building in the rear for hot bitches. The floors
of the inner courts, like thofe of the lodging-
rooms, are bricked and floped towards the cen-
tre : and a channel of water, brought in by a
leaden pipe, runs through the middle of thein.
In the centre of each court is a well, large enough
to dip a bucket to clean the kennels ; this muft
be faced with ftone, or it will be often out of re-
pair. In the feeding -yard it fhould have a woodeu
cover.

The benches, which muft be open to let the
urine through, fhould have hinges and hooks in
the wall, that they may fold up, for the greater,
convenience in wafhing out the kennel ; they
fhould alfo be made as low as poffible, that a
hound, when he is tired, may have no difficulty in
jumping up ; and at no time may be able to creep
under :* let me add, that the boiler fliould be of.
caft iron.

* Benches cannot be too low : — If, owing to the fmalhiefs
of the hound, it fhould be difficult to render them low enough,
a projeAing ledge will anfwer the fame purpofe, and the
benches may be boarded at bottom to prevent the hound from
creeping under.

C % The

2Z THOUGHTS UPON HUNTIIS'G.

The reft of the kennel confifls of a large court
in front, which is alfo bricked, having a grafs-
court adjoining, and a little brook running
through the middle of it. The earth that was
taken out of it is thrown up into a mount, where
the hounds in lummer dehght to fit. This court
is planted round with trees, and has, befides, a
lime tree, and fome horfe chcfnut trees near the
niiddle of it, for the fake of fhade. A high pale
inclofes the whole ; part of which, to the height
of about four feet, is clofe ; the other open ; the
intcrftices are about two inches wide. The grafs-
rourt is pitched near the pale, to prevent the
hcun is from fcratching out. If you cannot guefs
the intention of the pofis which you fee in the
courts, there is fcarcely an inn window on any
road, where the following line \vill not let you
into the fecret :

** So dogs will p— where dogs have p — -d before."

This is done to fave the trees, to which the
urinary (idts are prejudicial. If they be at firft
backward in coming to them, bind tome ftraw
roiind the bottom, and rul) it with galbanura.
The brook in the grafs-court may ferve as a
flew : your fifh will be very i'dfc*

* It may alfo be ufed as a cold bath for fuch hounds as fland
in need of it. For lamenefs in the flifle, and for ftrains, it will
be found cf fervice.

At

THOUGHTS UPON HUNTING. 2^

At the back of the kennel is a boufe, thatched
and furzed up on the fides, bi^ enough to con-
tahi at leafl a load of ilraw. Here fliould be a
pit ready to receive the dung, and a gallows for
the fleih. The gallows fhould have a thatched
roof, and a circular board at the pofts of it, to
prevent vermin from climbing up. If you can
indole a piece of ground adjoining to your ken-
nel, for fuch dog horfes as may be brought to
you alive, it will be of great ufe, as it might be
dan.o-erous to turn them out where other horfes
go ; for you may not always be able to difcover
their diforders. Hither you may aUb bring your
hounds, after they have been fed, to empty
themfelves ; here you will have more opportunities
of feeing them than in the kennel, and will be
enabled, therefore, to make your draft for the
next day with greater accuracy.

A flove, I believe, is made ufe of in fome ken-
nels ; but where the feeder is a good one, a mop,
properly ufed, will render it unnecefTary. I have
a little hay-rick in the grafs-yard, which^ I think,
is of ufe to keep the hounds clean and fine in
their coats ; you will tind them frequently
rubbing themfelves againft it : the fliade of it
alfo is ufefiil to them in fummer. If ticks at
any time be troublefome in your kennel, let
the walls of it be well walhed; if that fhould
C 4 not

t4- THOUGHTS UPON HUNTING.

not deftroy them, the walls muft then be whitc-
wafhed.

In the fummer when you do not hunt, one
kennel will be fufficient ; the other then may be
iet apart for the young hounds, which fliould alfo
have the grafs-court adjoining to it. It is beft at
that time of the year to keep them feparate, and
it prevents many accidents which otherwife might
happen ; nor fhould they be put together till the
hunting feafon begins.* If your hounds be very
quarrel fome, the feeder may fleep in a cot, in the
kennel adioinincf; and if thev be well ch ail: i fed
at the firft quarrel, his voice will be fufhcient to
fettle all their differences afterwards.-}- Clofc to
the door of the kennel, let there be always a
quantity of little fwitches, which three narrow
boards, nailed to one of the poils, will eafily
contain.:}:

•* The dogs and the bitches may alfo be kept feparate from
each other during the funimer months, where there are conve-
niences for it.

f In a kennel in Oxfordfliire the feeder pulls a bell, which
the hounds underftand the meaning of; it filences them im-
mediately, and faves him the trouble of getting out of his bed.

I When hounds are perfeftly obedient, whips are no longer
neceflary ; fwjtches, in my opinion, are preferable. The whips
I life are coach whips three feet long, the thong half the length
of the crop. They are more handy than horfe whips, curred
the hounds as well, and hurt them lefs,

My

THOUGHTS UPON HUNTING. 1^

My kennel is clofe to the road-fide, but it was
unavoidable. This is the reafon why my front
pale is clofe, and only the fide ones open ; it is
a great fault : avoid it if you can, and your
hounds will be the quieter.

Upon looking over my letter, I find I begin
recommending, with Mr. Somervile, a high litu-
ation for the kennel, and afterwards talk of a
brook running through the middle of it ; I am
afraid that you will not be able to unite thefe two
advantages; in which cafe, without doubt, wa-
ter fhould be preferred : the mount I have men-
tioned will anfwer all the purpofes of an emi-
nence : belides, there Ihould be moveable fiages
on wheels for the hounds to lie upon ; at any
rate, however, let your foil be a dry one.

You will think, perhaps, my lodging-rooms
higher than is neceflary. I know they are con-
fiderably higher than is ufual ; the intention of
which is, to give more air to the hounds ; and
I have not the leafl: doubt that they are the
better for it. — I will no longer perfecute you
with this unentertaining fubje61, but take my
leave.

[Mr. Beckford has here pointed out with m.uch
^xadnefs the aiethod of creding a Kennel. —

The

2d THOUGHTS UPON HUNTING.

The editor of the prefent edition, by way of
further ill ufl ration, concludes the work with a
di'frription of thofe of the grcateft celebrity in
the kingdom, accompanied with four beautiful
and pi6lurefque views of them.]

I. E T.

THOUGHTS UPON HUNTING, 27

I

LETTER III.

I BEGIN this letter with aflurlng you that I
have done with the kennel: without douht,
you will think I had need. If T have made even
the name frightful to you, comfort yourfelf with
the thoughts that it will not appear again.

Your criticifm on my fwitches I tliink unjuH:.
You tell me felf-defence would of courfe make
you take that precaution — do you always walk
with a whip in your hand, or do you think that a
walking ftick, which may be a good thing to
knock a dog on the head with, would be equally
proper to correct him fhould he be too familiar ?
You forget, however, to put a better fu^^ it it ute in
the room of them. —

You defire to know, what kind of hound I
would recommend : x\s you mention not for any
particular chace, or country, I underhand you
generally ; and iTiall anfwer, that I moft approve
of hounds of the middle iize. I believe all animals
of that defcription are ftrongeft, and beflr^able to
endure fatigue. In the height, as well as the
colour of hounds, moft fportfmen have their pre-
judices ; but in their fhape at Icafi, I think they
piuft all agree. I know fportfxnen, who boldly

affirm'

1§ THOUGHTS UPON HUNTIK^G.

affirm, that a fmall hound will oftentimes beat a
large one ; that he will climb hills better, and go
through cover quicker ;— whilft others are not
lefs ready to ailert, that a large hound will make
his way in any country, will get better through
the dirt than a fmall one ; and that no fence, how-
ever high, can ftop him. — You have now three
opinions ; and I advife you to adopt that which
fuits your country belt : there is, hov>^ever, a cer-
tain lizc, befi: adapted for bufinefs ; which I take
to be that between the two extremes ; and I
will venture to fay, that fuch hounds will not
fnffer themfelves to be difgraced in any country,
Somervile, 1 find, is of the fame opinion.

— — ■ " But here a mean

Obferve, nor the large hov.nd prefer, of fizs

Gigantic ; he in the thick-woven covert

Painfully tugs, or in the thorny brake

Torn and enibarrafs'd bleeds : but if too final!,

Tiie pigmy brood in every furrow fwims ;

Moil'd in clogging clay, panting they lag

Behind inglorious ; or elfe fliivering creep,

Benumb'd and faint, beneath the fliell'ring thorn.

For hounds of middle fize, aftive and fti'ong,

Will better anfwer all thy various ends,

And crown thy pleafing labours with luccefs."

I perfe6lly agree with you, that to look well
they fhould be all nearly of a fize ; and, I even
think, they fiiould all look of the fame family. —

" Fades non omnibus una,
Kec divcrfa tamen, qualem decet elfe fororum." '

If

TKOUGHTS UFO\" HUNTIKG. 2,^

If liandfome withall, they are then perfect. With
resfard to their beina; lizeable, what Somervilc
fays, is lb much in your own way, that I fhali
fend it you. —

*' As fome brave captain, curious and cvaft,

By his fix'd ftandard forms in equal ranks

His gay battalion, as one man they move

Step after ftep, their fize the fame, their arms

Far-gleaming, dart the fame united blaze ;

Reviewing generals his merit own ;

How regular ! how juft ! and all his cares

Are well repaid, if mighty George approve.

So model thou thy pack, if honour touch

Thv generous foul, and the world's juft applaufe."

There are neceffary points in the fliape of a
hound, which ought always to be attended to by
a fportfman ; for, if he be not of a perfect fym-
metry, he will neither run fafl, nor bear much
work : he has much to undergo, and fhould have
flrength proportioned to it. — Let his legs be
ftraight as arrows ; his feet round, and not too
large ; his flioulders back ; his breaft rather wide
than narrow ; his chefl deep ; his back broad ;
his head fmall : liis neck thin ; his tail thick and
brufliy ; if he carry it well, fo much the better:
This lafl point, however trifling it may appear to
you, gave rife to a very odd queflion : A gentle-
man, (not much acquainted with hounds) as we
were hunting together the other day, faid, " I
I " obferve,

^b THOUGHTS UPON HUNTINGi

** obferve, Sir, that fomc of your dogs tails Hand
*' lip, and fomc hang down ; pray which do you
*' reckon the bejl hounds ?"" — Such young hounds
as are out at the elbows, and fuch as are weak
from the knee to the footj fliould never be taken
into the pack.

I find that I have mentioned a fmall head, as
one of the nccctlary requiiilcs of a hound; but
you will underftand it as rehitive to htauty only ;
for as to goodnffs, I beUeve large-headed hounds
are in no wife inferior. Somervilc, in his dcfcrip-
tion of a perfe6l hound, makes no mention of the
head, leaving the fize of it to Phidias to deter-
mine; he therefore mu ft have thought it of Hltle
confcquence. I fend you his words. —

■: — — — " See there with countenance blythcj.
And with a courtly grin, the fawning hound
Salutfs thee cow'ring, his wide-op'niiig nofe
Upwards he curls, and his large floe-black eyes
JVlelt in foft blandifhments, and humble joy ;
Hlsglolfy fkin, or yellow-pied, or blue,

In lights or fliades by nature's pencil drawn,

Reflefts the various tints ; his ears and legs

Fleckt liere and there in gay enaniel'd pride, ,

Rival the fpeckled part; his rufh-grovrn tail

O'er his broad back bends in an ample arch ;

On flioulders clean, upright and firm he ftands ;

His round cat foot, ftraight hams, and wide-fpread thighsj

And his low dropping cheft, confefs his fpeed,

His ftrength. his wind, or on the fteepy hill,

Or

THOUGHTS UPON HUNTING. 3!

Or far extended plain ; in every part
So well proportion'd, that the nicer fkill
Of Phidias himfelf can't blame thy choice.
Of fuch compofe thy pack.

The colour, I think of little moment ; and am
of opinion, with our friend Footc, refpeding his
negro friend, that a good dog, like a good can-
didate, cannot be of a bad colour.

Men are too apt to be prejudiced by the fort of
hound they themfelves have been moil accuftjraed
to. Tliofe who have been uled to the fharp-
nofed fox-hound, will hardly allow a large-headed
hound to he a fox-hound ; yet they both equally
are. — Speed and beauty are the chief excellencies
of the one ; whilft floutncfs and tcndernefs of
nofc in hunting,* are chara6leriftic of the other.
I could tell you, that I have feen very good fport
with very unhandlbme packs, confifling of hounds
of various lizes, differing from one another as
much in fhape and look, as in their colour ; nor
could there be traced the Icaft lign of confan-
guinity amongfr them : conlidered feparately, the
hounds were good ; as a pack of hounds they
were not to be commended ; nor would you be
fatisfied with any thing that looks fo very incom-

* II paroit que la finelTe de I'odorat, dans les chiens, depend
4e la grofleur plus que de la longueur du mufcau.

BUFFON.

^ plete.

^2 THOUGHTS UPON HUNTING.

plete. — You will find nothing fo eflcntlal to yout
{port, as, that your hounds fhould run well to-
gether ; nor can this end be better attained, than
by confining yourfclf, as near as you can to thofe
of the fame fort, fize, and fhape.

A great excellence in a pack of hounds is the
head they carry ; and that pack may be faid to go
the faftefl, that can run ten miles the foonelt ;
notwithftanding the hounds, feparately, may not
run fo fail as many others. A pack of hounds,
confidcrcd in a colle6live body, go faft in propor-
tion to the excellence of their nofes, and the head
they carry ; as that traveller generally gets fooneft
to his journey's end, who flops Icaft upon the

road. Some hounds that I have hunted with,

would creep all through the fame hole, though
they might have leapt the hedge, and would fol-
low one another in a llring, as true as a team of
cart-horfes. — I had rather fee them, like the liorfcs
of the fun, all a-hreaji.

A friend of mine killed thlrty-feven brace of
foxps in one fcafon : twenty nine of the foxes
were killed without any intermiffion. I mull tell
you at the fame time, that they were killed v/ith
hounds bred from a pack of harriers ; nor had
they, I believe, a fingle lldrter belonging to them.
There is a pack now in my neighbourhood of all
forts and lizes, wliicli feldom mifs a fox; when

they

TfiOUGHTS UPON HUNTING. 33f

they run, there is a long firing of them, and every
fault is hit off by an old fouthern hound. How-
ever, out of the lali eighteen foxes they hunted,
they killed feventeen ; and I have no doubt, that
as they become more complete, more foxes will
efcape from them. Packs which are compofed of
hounds of various kinds, fcldom fun v^^ell toge-
ther, nor do their tongues harmonize ; yet they
generally, I think, kill moft foxes; but unlefs I
like their ftyle of killing them, whatever may be
their fuccefs, I cannot be completely fatisiied. I
once afked the famous Will Crane, hov/ his
hounds behaved — " very well. Sir,'" he reply'd ;
" they never come to a fault, hut they fpread like a
*' Jky rochet r — Thus it fhould always be.

A famous fportfman aflced a gentleman what
he thought of his hounds.—" Your pack is com-
" pofed. Sir," faid he, '' of dogs which any other
" man would //^«^;-— they are all Jhirters."—
This was taken as a compliment. — However,
think not that I recommend it to you as fuch ; foe
though I am a great advocate for flyle in the kil-
ling of a fox, I never forgive a profefled fkirter ;
where game is plenty, they are always changing,
and are the lofs of more foxes than they kill.

You afk me, how many hounds you ought to
keep ? It is a queflion not eafy to anfwer — from

D twenty

34- THOUGHTS Ul^ON HUNTINC5.

twenty to thirty couple, are as many, I think, aS
you lliould ever take hito the field. The pro-
priety of any number muft depend upon the
ilrength of your pack, and the country in which
you are to hunt : the quantity of hounds necef-
lary to furnifh that number for a whole feafon,
muft alfo depend on the country where you hunt;
as fome countries lame hounds more than others.
The taking out too many hounds, Mr. Somervilc
very properly calls a7i iifehfs incimib ranee. It is
not lo material what the number is, as it is that
all your hounds fhould l>e fteady, and as nearly
as poflible of equal fpeed.

When packs are very large, the hounds arc fcl-
dom fufficiently hunted to be good. Few people
choofe to hunt every day ; and if t|,icy did, it is
Z30t likely the weather in winter would give tliem
leave. You would always be obliged therefore,
either to take out a very large pack, or a great num-
ber of hounds muft be left behind : in the firil
cafe, too many hounds in the field would pro-
bably fpoil your fport ; in the Ibcond, hounds that
remain long without work, always get out of wind,
and oftentimes become rix)tous. About forty
couple, I think, will befl anfwer your purpofe.
Forty couple of hunting hounds will enable you
to hunt three, or even four times in a week ; and
I will venture to fay, will kill more foxes than ta,

greater

TttOtJGHTS UPON HUNTING. 35

greater number. Hounds, to be good, mufl be
kept conftantly hunted ; and if I fliould hereafter
fay, a fox-hound fliould be above his work, it
will not be a young fox-hound I fball mean ; for
he fhould feldom be left at home, as long as he is
able to hunt : the old and lame, and fuch as are
low in fiefli, you fhould leave ; and fuch as you
are fure idlenefs cannot fpoil.

It is a great fault to keep too many old hounds.
If you choofe that your hounds fhould run well
together, you fhould not continue any, longer
than five or fix feafons ; though there is no faying
with certainty, what number of feafons a hound
will laft. Like us, fome of them have better con-
iVitutions than others, and confcquently will bear
more work ; and the duration of all bodies de-
pends as much on the ufage that they may meet
with as on the materials of which they are made.

You afk, whether you had not better buy a
complete pack at once, than be at the trouble of
breeding one ? Certainly you had, if fuch an op-
portunity fliould offer. It fometimes happens,
that hounds are to be bought for lefs money than
you could breed them. The gentleman to whom
my houfe formerly belonged, had a moft famous
pack of fox-hounds. His goods, &c. were ap-
praifed and fold ; which, when the appraifer had

D z doao

36 THOU'GHTS UPON HUNTirsG.

done, he was put in mind of the hounds. — ^' Well,
gentlemen," faid hc^ " what fhall I appraile them
*' at? a Jhillin^ a-pkcc?—'' Oh ! it is too httle !"
*' is it lo :" laid the appraifer ; " why it is more
** than 1 ivoiild give for tJieitt, I ajjiire yrnir

Hounds are not bought to cheap at Tattcrj'alTs.

LET-

THOUGHTS UrON HUNTING. 37 "

LETTER IV.

I AM glad that you do not difapprove the ad-
vantage I have made of my friend Somervile.
I was doubtful whether you would not have cen-
fured me for it, and have compared me to fome of
thole would-be tine gentlemen, who, to cut a
figure, tack an embroidered edging on their coarfe
cloth. — I lliall be cautious, however, of abufing
your indulgence, and fhall not quote my poet
oftencr than is necelfary ; but where we think the
fame thing, you had better take it in his words
than mine. — I fliall now proceed to the feeding of
hounds, and m^inagement of them in the kennel.

A good feeder is an efTential part of your efla-
hlifhment. — Let him be young and adlive ; and
have the reputation at leatt, of not dilliking work :
he fhould be good-tempered, for the fake of the
animals entrufled to his care ; and who, however
they may be treated by him, cannot complain..
He fliould be one who will flriclly obey any or-
ders that you may give ; as well with regard to
the management, as to the breeding of the
hounds ; and fliould not be iblely under the a\-.
rciSlion of your huntfman,. It is true I have iccn
it otherwife : I have known a pack of hounds be-,
lang, as it were, entirely to the huntfmau— ^a
D 3 liable

38 THOtJGH^rS UPON HUNTING,

fiable of horfcs belong; to the iiroom — whilll the
maflcr had httle more power in the direction of
either, than a perfedl firanger. — This } on will
not fafFer. I know you choofe to keep the fu-
premc command in your own hands ; and though
you permit your fervants to remonftrate, you da
not fufFer them to difobey. — He who allows a
huntfman to manage his hounds without controul^
literally keeps them for the huntfman's amufe-

ment. You defire to know what is required of

a feeder ; — 1 will tell you as well as I can.

As our fport depends entirely on that exquilite
{en{c of fmelling, fo peculiar to the hound, care
mult be taken to preferve it ; and cleanlinefs is
the furefl; means. The keeping your kennel
fweet and chaji cannot therefore be too much re-
commended to the feeder ; nor fhould you on any
account admit the leaft deviation from it. If he
feesjTjzf exadl, he will be fo himfelf. — This is a
very eilential part of his bulinefs. The boil-
ing for tlic hounds ; mixing of the meat ; and get-
ting it ready for them at proper hours, your huntf-
man will ofccurfe take care of ; nor is it ever
likely to be forgotten. I mufl caution you not
to let your dogs eat their meat too hot ; for I have
known it attended with bad confcquences ; you
thould alfo order it to be mixed up as thick as
poiTible. — When the feeder has cleaned his ken-
nel in the morning, and prepared his meat, it is

ufual

THOUGHTS UPON HUNTING. 39.

ufual for him on bunting- days, (in an eftablifli-
mcnt like your's) to exercife the horfes of the
luintfman and whipper-in ; and in many tables
it is alfo the feeder who looks after the huntfman's
horfe when he comes in from hunting, whilfi: the
huntfman feeds the hounds. When the hounds
are not out, the huntfman, and whipper-in, of
courfe, will exercife their own horfes ; and that day
the feeder has little elfe to mind but the clean-
ing of his kennel. Every poffible contrivance
has been attended to in the defcription I fent you,
to make that part of his workealy ; all the courts,
except the grafs-court, being bricked, and flopcd
on purpofe. There is alfo plenty of water, with^
out any trouble in fetching it ; and a thorough air
throughout the kennels, to affift in drying therm
again.—- -Should you choofe to increafeyonr num-
ber of fervants in the ftable, in that cafe, the bufi-
nefs of the feeder may be confined entirely to the
kennel,— There fhould be always two to feed
liounds properly ; the feeder and huntfman.

Somervile ftrongly recommends cleanlinefs In
the following lines,

" O'er all let cleanlinefs prefide, no fcraps
Beftrew the pavement, and no half-pick'd bones,
To kindle fierce debate, or to difguft
That nicer fenfe, on which the fportfman's hope,
And all his futm-e triumphs muft depend.
Soon as the growling pack with eager joy

P 4. Have

^.6 THOUGHTS UPON HUNTING.

Have lapp'd their fmoaking viand?, morn or eve^
From the full ciftern lead the duftile flreams,
To wafh thy court vvell-pav'd, nor fpare thy pains,
For much to health will cleanlinefs avail.
Seek'ft thou for hounds to climb the rocky fteep,
And brufli th' entangled covert, whofe nice fcent
O'er greafy fallows, and frequented roads,
Can pick the dubious way ? Banifli far off
Each noifome ftench, let no ofFenfive fmell
Invade thy wide inclofiire, but admit
The nitrous air, and purifying breeze."

So peifcctly right is the poet in tiiis, that if you
can make your kennel a vilit every clay, youir
hounds will be the better for it. When I have
been long abfent from nunc, I have always per-
ceived a dilference in their looks. I fhall now
take notice of that part cf the management of
liouuds in the kennel, which concerns the huntf-
man as well as the feeder.— -Yoar huntftnan mull
ahvays attend the feeding of the hounds, which-
Ihould be dratted, according to the condi-
tion they are in. In all packs, fome hounds
will feed better than others ; fome there are tha^t
will do witii lefs mf;at ; arid it requires a nice eve,
and great attention, to keep them all in equal
ilefh :---it is what difiinguifhes a good kennel-
huntfman, and has its merit.---It is feldora that
huntfmen give this particular all attention it de-
fervcs : they feed their hounds in too great a
hurry ; and not often, I believe, take the trouble
of cafiing their eye over them, before they begin ;

and

THOUGHTS UPON HUNTING. 41

and yet, to dlftingiiiHi with any nicety, the order
a pack of liounds are in, and the diiferent degrees
of it, is farcly no eafy talk ; and to be done well,
requires no fniall degree of circumfpe6lion : you
had better not expect your huntfman to be very
exadl ; where precilion is required, he will moil
probably fail.

When I am prefent myfelf, I maT:e feveral
draft?. When my huntfman feeds them, he calls
them all over l^iy their names, letting in each
hound as he is called ; it has its ufe — it ufes them
to their names, and teaches them to be obedient.
Were it not for this, 1 fhould difapprove of it en-
tirely ; fi nee it certainly requires more coolnefs
and deliberation to diftinguifh with precifion
which are bcfl entitled to precedence, than this
method of feeding will admit of; and unlcfs fiefh
be in great plenty, thofe that are called in lafi,
may not have a tafte of it. To prevent this in-
convenience, luch as are low in flefh, had better
be all drafted off into a feparate kennel ;* by this
means, the hounds that require j^"^, will all have
a fhare of it. If any be much poorer than the

* By thus feparating from the reft, fucli as are poor, you will
proceed to the feeding of your hounds with more accuracy, and
lefs trouble ; and though they be at firft drafted off, m the man-
ner above defcribed, it is (lill meant that they fhould be let in to
feed, one by one, as they anfvver to their names ; or elfe, as it
will frequently happen, they may be better fed than taught.

41 THOUGHTS UPON HUNTING.

refl:, they fhould be fed again — fuch hounds can-
not be led too often. If any in the pack be too
fat, they fliouM be drafted off, and not fafFered
lo liU themfelves. The others flionld cat what
lliey will of the meat. The days my hounds have
greens or fulphur, they generally are let in all
together ; and fuch as require jlejh, have it given
to them afterwards. Having a good kennel-
huntfman, it is not often that I take this trouble;
yet I fcldom go into my kennel, but I indulge
ynyfelf in the pleafure of feeing food given to fuch
liounds, as appear to me to be in want of it. I
have been told that in one kennel in particular,
the hounds are under fuch excellent management,
that they conftantly are fed with the door of the
feeding-yard open ; and the rough nature of the
fox-hound is changed into fo much politenefs,
that he waits at the door, till he is invited in ; and
what perhaps is not lefs extraordinary, he comes
put again, wlicthcr he has fatisfied his hunger or
not, the moment he is deiircd — -The cffedl of difr
eipline. However, as this is not abfolutely ne-
ceflliry,' and hounds may be good without it ; anc|
as I well know your other amufcments will not
permit you to attend to fo much manoeuvring, I
would by no means v.ifn you to give fuch power
to your huntfman. The bufinefs would be injudi-
cioufiy done, and mo ft probably would not anfwer
your expectations — The hound would be tor-
itnented nml-a-pro^os ; — an animal fo little deferv-

THOUGHTS UPON HUNTING.

43

i'ng of it from our hands, that I fhould be forry to
diftarb his hours of repofe by unnoceflary feverity.
You will perceive it is a nice affair; and I affure
you I. know no huntfman who is equal to it. The
gentleman \vho has carried this matter to its
mofl perfection, has attended to it regularly him*
felf; has conftantly a(5led on fixed principles,
from which he has never deviated ; and I believe
has fucceeded to the very utmoft of his wifhes. — >
All hounds, (and more efpecially young ones)
lliould be called over often in the kennel ;* and
moft huntfinen pracliie this leffon, as they feed
their hounds. — They flog them while they feed
them — and if they have not always a belly-full
one way, tliey feldom fail to have it the other.-^

* There is no better method of teaching a Iiound obedience;
when you call him, he ftiould approach you ; when you touch
him with your ftick, he Ihould follow you any where.

f " Thus we find, eat or not eat, work or play, whipping is
always in feafon." (vide Monthly Review) The critic treats this
paflage with great feverity. He would have fpared it, without
doubt, had he underftood that it was introduced on purpofe to
correfc the abufe of kennel difcipline. Unacquainted, as the
Reviewer feems to be with the fubjeft, it is no wonder that he
(hould miflake a meaning, perhaps rather unfairly dated by the
author, in favor of that humanity he is fuppofed fo much to
want. — Hounds are called in to feed, one by one, and fuch only
are correfted, as come uncalled for : nor is correction unjufl, fo
long as it iliall fall on the difobedient only. Obedience is an ufe-
f'dl leffbn, and though it cannot be /)r«i?//i'^ too often, it Ihould
be taup;/ii them at a more idle time.

It

44 THOUGHTS UPON HUNTING,

It is not, however, my intention to oppofe {o gc-r
neral a pra6licc, in which there may be fomc
QtiHty; I fhall only obfervc, that it fhould be
ufcd with difcretioD, lell the whip ihould fall
heavily in the kcnnpl on fuch as never deferve it
ixi the field.

My hounds arc generally fed about eleven
o'elock;* and when I am prefent myfelf, I take
the fame opportunity to make my draft for the
next day's hunting. I feldom, when I can help
it, leave this to my huntfman, though it is ne-
cefTary he fliould be prefent when the draft is
madcj that he may kn,o\v what hounds he haa
out.

* Having found it neceflaiy to alter my method of feeding
hounds, it may not be improper to take notice of it here.
They are now fed at eight o'clock, inftead of eleven. Their
firft feed is of barley and oatmeal mixed, an equal quantity of
each. Flefli is afterwards mixed up with the remainder for
fuch hounds as are poor, who are then drafted off into another
kennel, and let in to feed all together. When the fleflx is all
eaten, the pack are again let in, and are by this means cheated
into a fecond appetite. At three o'clock thofe that are to hunt
the next day are drafted into the hunting kennel; they are
then let into the feeding-yard, where a fmall quantity of oat-
meal (about three buckets) is prepared for them; not mbced
up thin, as mentioned in page 45, but mixed up thick. Such
as are tender, or bad feeders, have a handful of boiled flefli
given to them afterwards. When they are not to hunt the next
day, they are fed once Gjnly — at eleven o'clock.

It

THOUGHTS UPON HUNTING. 45

It Is a bad cuflom to ule hounds to the l>oili}i(r-
houle; it is apt to make them nice, and may-
prevent them from ever eating the kennel-mcat-
What they have, ihould always be given them ia
the feeding-yard, and for the fame reafon, though
it be fiefhj it llioukl have fomc meal mixed with
it.

If your hounds be low in flefh, and have far to
go to cover, they may all have a little thin lap
again in the evening; but this fhould never be
done if you hunt early.* Hounds, I think,
fhould be fharp-fet before hunting; they run the
better for it.-j^

If many of your hounds, after long Ted,
ihould be too l^it, J by feeding them for a day or
two on thinner meat than you give the others, it
will be found, I believe, to anfwer better than
the ufual method of giving them the fame meat,
and ftinting them in the quantity of it.

* Hounds that are tender feeders cannot be fed too late, or
with meat too good.

f Vid. Note, page 44.

X Hounds that reft, fhould not be fuffered to become fat. — ■
It would be accounting very badly for the fatnefs of a hound,
to fay he is fat, becaufe he has not worked lately, fmce he
ought to have been kept lower on that account.

If

46 THOUGHTS UPON HUNTING,

If your hounds be not walked out, they lliould
be turned into the grals- court to empty thcm-
felves after they have been fed, it will contribute
not a little to the cleanhncfs of the kennel.

I have heard that it is a cuflom in fome ken-
nels to lliLit up the hounds for a couple of liours
after they come in from hunting, before they arc
fed; and that other hounds are fliut up with
theni, to lick them clean."* ]\Iy ufual way is to
fend on a whipper-in before them, that the meat
may be gotten ready againil they come, and they
are fed imnieduUelj/ : having filled their bellies^
they are naturally inclined to reft. If they have
had a fjvcre day, they arc fed again fome hours
after. -f- As to the method above-mentioned, it
may be more convenient perhaps to have the
hounds all together: but 1 cannot think it nccel*-
fary, for the reafon that is given ; and I fliould
apprehend a parcel of idle hounds, fhut up
amongft fucli as are tired and inclined to refl,

* If hounds be fhut up, as foon as they come an from
hunting, theywill not readily leave the benches afterwards; for
Jf they be much fatigued, tliey will jn-efer reft to food.

f My hounds are generally fed twice on the days they hunt.
Some will feed better the fecond time than the firft; befides,
the turning them out of the lodging-houfe refreflies them; they
ftretch their limbs; empty their bodies; and, as during this
jime their kennel is cleaned out, and litter fliaken up, they fet-
tle tliemfelves better on the benches afterwards.

would

THOUGHTS UPON HUNTII^G. ^J

would dlfiurb them more than all their lickhis:
would make amends for. Wlieu you feed tliem
twice, keep them feparatc till after the fccond
feeding ; it would be ftill better were they not
put together till the next morning.

Every day, when hounds come in from hunt-
ing, they ought carefully to be looked over, and
invalids fhould immediately be taken care of.*"
Such as have fore feet, fhould have them well
waflied out with brine, or pot liquor. If you
permit thofe hounds that are unable to work to
run about your houfe, it will be of great fervice
to them. Such as are ill, or lame, ought to be
turned out into another ICennel; it will be more
eafy to give them f/iere the attention they may re-
quire, both as to medicine and food.

Every Thurfday during the hunting feafon,
my hounds have one pound of fulphur given
them in their meat; and every Sunday through-
out the, year they have plenty of greens boiled up
with it : I find it better to fix the days, as it is
then lefs liable to be forgotten. I ufed to give
them the wafh from the kitchen, but I found it

* Hounds that come home lame fliould not be taken out
the next hunting day, fince they may appear found without be-
ing fo. At the beginning of the feafon the eyes of hounds are
frequently injured ; fuch hounds fliould not be hunted, and if
J^eir eyes continue weak they fliould lofe a little blood.

3 made

jfi THOtJGHtS UFdN HUNTtNG.

made them thirty, and it is now omitted in ili&
hunting fealbn. A horfc frellv killed is an ex-
cellent meal for hounds after a very hard day;
but they fhould not hunt till the third day after
it. The bones broken arc good food for poor
liounds, as there is great proof in them. Sheep
trotters are very fweet food, and will be of fer-
Yice when horfe-ilefh is not to be had. Bullocks'
bellies may be alfo of fome ufe,, if you can get
nothing elle. Oatmeal, I believe, makes the
beft meat for hounds; barley is certainly the
cheapeft ; and in many kennels they give barley
on that account; but it is heating, does not mi:c
up fo well, nor is there fo much proof in it as in
oatmeal. If mixed, an equal quantity of each,
k will then do very well, but barley alone will
not. Ivlacb alfo depends on the goodnefs of the
meal itfclf, which is not often attended to. If
you do not ufe your own, you ihoiild buy a large
quantity of it any time before harvell, and keep
it by you : there is no other certainty, I believe,^
of having it old; which is more material than,
perhaps, you are aware of. I have heard that a
famous Chelhire huntfman feeds his hounds v/ith
wheat ; which he has found to be the befi; food.
He gives it them with the bran ; it would caufe
no little diilurbance in many neighbourhoods, if
other fportfmcn were to do the fame.

lam

"STHOtrGHTS UPON HtJNTING. 49

I am not fond of hheding hounds, unlefs they
Want it; though it has long been a cuilom in my
kennel to '})hyfic them twice a year; after they
leave off hunting, and before they begin. It is
given in hot weather, and at an idle time. It
tools their bodies, and without doubt is of fer-
vice to them. \i a hound be in want of phylicj
1 prefer giving it in balls.* It is more eafy to
give in this manner the quantity he may want,
and you are more certain that he takes it. In
many kennels, they alfo bleed them twice a
year, and fome people think that it prevents
madnefs. The anointing of hounds, or drejjing
them, as huntfmen call it, makes them fine in
their coats: it may be done twice a year, or oft-
ner, if you find it neceflary. As I Ihall hereaf-
ter have occafion to write on the difcafes of
hounds, and their cures, I will fend you at the
fame time a receipt for this purpofe. During the
fummer months, when my hounds do not hunt,
they have feldom any fiefh allowed them, and
are kept low, contrary, I believe, to the ufual
praftice of mofi kennels, where mangy hounds
in fummer are but too often feen. Huntfmen
fometimes content thcmfelves with checking this
diforder, when, with lefs trouble, perhaps, they

* One pound of antimony, four ounces of fulphur, and
fyrup of buckthorn q. f. to give it the conCftency of a ball,
Each, ball weighs about feven drachms,

E might

5* THOUGHTS UPON HUI^TING,

might prevent it. A regular courfe of wliey and
vegetables during the hot months mui\, certainl)^
be wholcfomc, and is, without doubt, the caufe
that a mangy hound is an anufnal light in m
kennel. Every Monday and Friday my bounds
go for whey till the hunting feafon begins ; arc
kept out feveral hours, and arc often made ta
J Vim tln'ough rivers during the hot weather.
After the laft phylic, and before they begin to
hunt, they are exerrifed on the turnpike road, to
harden their feet, which are waihed with ftrong
brine, as foon as they come in. Little ftraw is
neceflliry during the fummer; but when they
hunt they cannot have too much, or have it
changed too often. In many kennels they do not
boil for the hounds in fummer, but give them
meal only; in mine it is alwaj^s boiled; but with
this diiference, that it is mixed up thin, infiead
of thick. Many give fpurge-laurel in ftuTimcr,
boiled up in their meat; as I never ufe it, I can-
not recommend it. The phytic I give is two
pounds of fulphur, one pound of antimony, and
a pint and a half of fyrup of buckthorn, for
about forty couple of hounds.* In the winter
fealbn, let your hounds be fliut up warm at
night. If any hounds, after hunting, be miffing,
the ftraw-houfc door fhould be left open; and if

* Vide page 49, where it is recommended that fuch hounds
as require phytic fliould be phyfacked feparately.

^ they

THOUGHTS UPON HUNTING. ^t

^ey have had a hard day, it may be as well to
leave fome meat there for them.

I have inquired of my feeder, who is a good
one, (and has had more experience in thefe mat-
ters than any one you perhaps may get) how he
snixes up his meat. He teljs me, that in his opi-
nion, oatmeal and barley mixed, an equal quan-
tity of each, make the beil meat for hounds.
The oatmeal he boils for half an hour, and then
puts out the fire, puts the barley into the copper,
and mixes both together. I afked him why he
boiled one and not the other— he told me, boil-
ing, vv^hich made oatmeal thick, made barley
thin ; and that Vv'hen you feed with barley only,
it fhould not be put into the copper, but be
fcalded with the liquor, and mixed up in a buc-
ket. I find there is in my kennel a large tub on
purpofe, which contains about half a hogfhead.

You little think, perhaps, how difficult it is to
be a good kennel huntfman, nor can you, as
yet, know the nicety that is required to feed
hounds properly. You are not aware that fome
hounds will hunt befl: when fed late; others,
when fed early: that fome mould have but little;
that others cannot have too much. However, if
5^our huntfman obferve the rules I have here laid
down, his hounds will not do much amifs; but
ihould you at any time wifh to rencherir upon the
E 2 mat-

^2 THOUGHTS UPON HU^^TING.

matter, and feed eanh particular hound fo as to
make the mofl of him, you muft learn it of a
gentleman in Leiceilcrfhire, to whom the noble
icience of fox-hunting is more beholden than to
any other. I fhall myfelf fay nothing furtlicr on
the fubjecl ; for as your huntfman will not have
the fenfe of the gentkman I allude to, nor you
perhaps his patience, an eafier method I know
will fuit you bcft. I fhall only advifeyou, while
you endeavour to keep your hounds in good or-
der, not to let them become too fat ; it will be
impoflible for them to run, if they be. A fat al-
derman would cut a mighty ridiculous figure
were he inclined to run a race.

LET-

THOUGHTS UPON HUNTING, ^J

LETTEk V.

^TPHERE is an active vanity in the mlads of
-*- men which is favourable to improvement,
and in every purfuit, while fomething remains to
be attained, fo long will it afford amufement;
you, therefore, will find pleafure in the breeding
of hounds, in which expe6lation is never com-
pletely fatisfied, and it is on the fagacious ma-
nagement of this bufinefs that all your fuccefs
will depend. Is it not extraordinary that no
other country fhould equal us in this particular,
and that the very hounds procured from hqnce
Ibould degenerate in another clin^ate I

" In thee alone, fair land of liberty!'
Is bred the perfect hound, in fcent and fpeed
As yet unrivall'd, while in other climes
Their virtue fails, a weak degen'rate race."

SoMERVILE.

Happy climate for fportfmen ! where nature feems
as it were to give them an exclufive privilege of
enjoying this diverfion. To preferve, however,
this advantage, care fhould be taken in the breed ;
I fhall, therefore, according to your defire, fend
you fuch rules as I obferve myfelf. Confider the
lize, fhape, colour, conftitution, and natural
difpolition of the dog you breed from, as well as
E ^ the

54 THOUGHTS UPON HUNTING.

the fiiienefs of his nofe, his floutnefs, nnd me^
thod of hunting. On no account breed from one
that is not Jiout^ that is not tender-nofed, or that
is either a habbler^* or a Jktrter,

*' Obferve with care his fhape, fort, colour, fize;
Nor willfagacious huntfmen lefs regard
His inward liabits; the vain babbler fliun,
Ever loquacious, ever in the wrong.
His foolifh offspring iliall offend thy ears
With falfe alarms and loud impertinence.
Nor lefs the fliifting cur avoid, that breaks
Illufive from the pack; to the next hedge
Devious he ftrays, there ev'ry mufe he tries,
If haply then he crofs the ftreaming fcent,
Away he flies vain-glorious; and exults
As of the pack fupreme and in his fpeed
And flrength unrivall'd. Lo! call: far behind,
His vex'd aflbciates pant, and lab'ring ftrain
To climb the fteep afcent. Soon as they reach
Th' infulting boafler, his falfe courage fails,
Behind he lags, doom'd to the fatal noofe,
His mailer's hate, and fcorn of all the field.
What can from fuch be hop'd, but a bafe brood
Of coward curs, a frantic, vagrant racer"

SoMERVILE.

It is the judicious crofs that makes the pack
complete. -j~ The fauhs and imperfedtions in one

breed,

* Babbling is one of the worfl faults that a hound can be
guilty of, it is conftantly increafing, and is alfo catching.
This fault, like many others, will fometimes run in the blood.

f I have iztw fox-hounds that were bred out of a Newfound-^

land

THOUGHTS UPON HUNTING.

5S

breed, may be recStified from another; and if
this be properly attended to, I fee no reafon why
the 'breeding of hounds may not improve, till
improvement can go no further. If you find a
crofs hit, purfue it.* Never put an old dog to
an old bitcii. Be careful that they be healthy
which you breed from, or you are not likely to
have a healthy offspring. Should a favourite
dog Ikirt a little, put liim to a thorough line-
hunting bitch, and fuch a crols may fucceed.
My objeclion to the breeding from fuch a hound
is, that as Hcirting is what moil fox-hounds ac-
quire from pradticCi it had better not be made
natural to them. A very famous fportfman has.
told me, that he frequently breeds from brothers
and liflers. As I fliould be very unv/illing to
urge any thing in oppofition to fuch authority,
you had better try it; and if it fucceed in hounds,
it is more I believe than it ufually does in other
animals. A famous cocker afTurcd a friend of
mine, that the third generation (which he called

land bitch and a fox-hound dog : they are iTiOnflrouny ugly-
are faid to give their tongues fparingly, and to tii^e foon. The
experiment has not fucceeded ; tlie crofs moft likely to be of fer-
vice to a fox- hound is the beagle. I am well convinced that a
handfome, bony, tender-nofed, ftout beagle would, occafion-
ally, be no improper crofs for a high-bred pack of fox-hounds.

* After the firH feafon, I breed from all my young dog-
hounds who have beauty and goodnefs to recommend them,
to fee what whelps they get.

E 4 a nick)

^6 THOUGHTS UPON HUNTING.

a nick) he had found to fucceed very well, but
no nearer : as I have neither tried one nor the
other, I cannot fpeak with any certainty about
them.

Give particular orders to your feeder to watch
over the bitches with a cautious eye, and lepa-
rate fuch as are going to be proud, before it be
too late. The advances they make frequently
portend mifchief as well as love; and, if not
prevented in time, will not fail to fet the whole
kennel together by the ears, and may occafion
the death of your befl dogs: care only can pre-
vent it.*

" Mark well the wanton females of thy pack,

That curl their taper tails, and frifking court

Their pye-baid mates enamour'd ; their red eyes

Flafh fires impure; nor reft, nor food they take,

Goaded by furious love. In fep'rate cells

Confine them now, left bloody civil wars

Annoy thy peaceful ftate. " Somervile,

I have known huntfmcn perfedlly ignorant of
the breed of their hounds, from inattention in
this particular ; and I have alfo known many
good dogs fall a facrijfice to it,

* When the bitches are off their heat, they ftiould be fuf-
fered to run about the houfe a day or two before they are takeA
out to hunt,

Th&

THOUGHTS UPON HUNTING. 57

The earlier in the year you breed the better :
January, February, and March, are the bell
months. Late puppies fcldom thrive ; if you
have any fuch, put them to the befl walks.*
When the bitehes begin to get big, let tliem not
hunt any more: it proves frequently fatal to the
puppies; fometimcs to the bitch herfelf ; nor is it
iafe for them to remain much longer in the ken-
nel. If one bitch have many puppies, more
than fhe can well rear, you may put Ibme of
them to another bitch; or if you deflroy any of
them, you may keep the befl coloured. They
fometimes will have an extraordinary number : I
have known an inftance of one having fifteen ;
and a friend of mine, whofe veracity 1 cannot
doubt, has afTured me that a hound in his pack
brought forth lixteen, all alive. When you
breed from a very favourite fort, and can have
another bitch warded at the fame time, it will
have this advantage, it will enable you to fave all
the puppies. Give particular orders that the
bitches be well fed with flefh ; they fhould alfo
have plenty of milk, nor fliould the puppies be
taken from them till they are able to take care of
themfelves: they will foon learn to lap milk,
which will relieve the mother. The bitches,
when their puppies are taken away from them,

* Of the early whelps I ^eeep five or iix, of the late ones
only two or thrge,

fhould

58 THOUGHTS UPON HUNTING.

iliould be phyficked; they fhould have three
purging balls given them, one every other morn-
ing, and plenty of whey the intermediate day. —
If a bitch bring only one or two puppies, and
you have another bitch that will take them, by
putting the puppies to her, the former will be
foon fit to hunt again; fhe ihould, however, be
phylicked firfl ; and if her dugs be anointed
with brandy and water, it will alfo be of fervice.
The ditlemper makes dreadful havoc with whelps
at their walks; greatly owing, I believe, to the
little care that is taken of them there, I am in
doubt whether it might not be better to breed
them up yourfelf, and have a kennel on purpofe.
You have a large orchard, paled in, which would
fuit them exa6\ly ; and what elfe is wanted might
eafily be obtained. There is, however, an ob-
je6lion that perhaps may ftrike you — If the dif-
temper once get amongft them, they mull all
have it: yet, notwithltanding that, as they will
be conllantly well fed, and will lie warm, I am
confident it would be the laving of many lives.
If you fhould adopt this method, you mufl re-
member to ufe them early to go in couples; and
when they become of a proper age, they muft
be walked out often : for fhould they remain con-
fined, tbcy would neither have the fhape, health,
or underfianding, which they ought to have.
When I kept harriers, I bred up fome of the
puppies at a difiant kennel ; but having no fer-

vants

THOUGHTS UPON HUNTING. 5^

vants there to exercife them properly, I found
ihern much inferior to fuch of their brethren as
ha.d the luck to furvive the many difficulties and
dangers they had undergone at their walks ; thefe
were afterwards equal to any thing, and afraid of
nothing; whilft thofe that had been nurfed with
{o much care were weakly and timid, and had
every difadvantage attending private education.

I have often heard as an excufe for hounds not
hunting a cold icent, that they were too high hredi
I confeis, I know not what that means : but this
I know, that hounds are frequently too ill bred to
be of any fervice. Jt is judgment in the breeder,
and patience afterwards in the huntlrnan, that
make them hunt.

Young hounds are commonly named when
firfl; put out, and fometimes indeed ridiculouflj
enough ; nor is it eafy, when you breed many,
to find fuitable or harmonious names for all ;
particularly as it is ufual to name all the whelps
of one litter with the fame letter, which (to be
fyftematically done) fliould alfo be the initial
letter of the dog that got them, or the bitch
that bred them. A baronet of my acquaintance,
a literal obferver of the above rule, fent three
young hounds of one litter to a friend, all their
names beginning, as he /aid, with the letter G — ^
GowUfi Govialy and Galloper,

It

6o THOUGHTS UPON HUNTING.

It is indeed of little confequence what hunti-
men call their hounds; yet if you diflike an un-
meaning name, would it not be as well to leave
the naming of them till they are brought home?
They foon learn their names, and a ihorter lift
would do. Damons and Delias would not then
be neceffary ; nor need the facred names of Ti-
tus and Trajan be thus degraded. It is true,
there are many odd names which cuftom autho-
rifes ; yet I cannot think^, becaufe fome drunken
fellow or other has chriftened his dog Tipler, or
Tapfter, that there is the lead reafon to follow
the example. Pipers and fiddlers, for the fake
of their mufic, we will not obje6l toj but tiplers
and tapflers your kennel will be much better
without.

However extraordinary you may think it, I
can affure you I have myfelf feen a %vhite Gipfey,
a grey Ruby, a dark Snowball, and a Bhieman
of any colour but hhie. The huntfman of a
friend of mine being afked the name of a young
hound, faid, it was Lyman. " Lyman!" faid
his mailer; " why, James, what does Lyman
" mean?" — "Lord, Sir!" replied James, *' what
** does any thing meanf^ — A farmer, who bred up
two couple of hounds for me, whofe names were
MeiTyman and Merrylafs, Ferryman and Furi-
ous, upon my inquiring after them, gave this
account : '' Merryman and INIerrylafs are both

** dead.

THOUGHTS UPON HUNTING. 6t

^* dead, but Ferr)^man, Sir, is a fine dog, and
" fo is Ferry la/s.'' Madam, an ufual name
among hounds, is often, I believe, very difre-
fpedlfully treated : I had an in fiance of it the
other day in my own buntfman, who, after hav-
ing rated Madam a great deal, to no purpofe,
(who, to confefs the truth, was much given to
do othervvife than fhe fhould) flew into a violent
paffion, and hallooed out, as loud as he could- —
** Mada7?ij you d — d hitch f

As you delire a lifl of names, I will fend you
one. I have endeavoured to clafs them accord-
ing to their different genders; but you will per-
ceive fome names may be ufed indifcriminately
for either. It is not ufual, I believe, to call a
pointer Ringwood, or a greyhound Harmony;
and fjch names as are expreflive of fpeed,
flrength, courage, or other natural qualities in a
hound, I think moft applicable to them. Da-
mons and Delias I have left out; the bold Thun-
der and the brilk Lightning, if you pleafe, may
fupply their places; unlefs you prefer the method
of the gentleman I told you of, who intends
namincr his hounds from the p — ge ; and, I fup-
pote, he at the fame time will not be unmindful
of the p — y c rs.

If you mark the whelps in the fide, (which is
called branding them) when they are firft put

out^

62 THOUGHTS UPON HUNTING,

out, (or perhaps it may be better done after they
have been out Ibme time) it may prevent their
being llolen.

When young hounds are firft taken in, they
fhoald be kept feparate from the pack ; and as it
will happen at a time of the year, when there is
little or no hunting, you may ealily give them
tip one of the kennels and grafs-court adjoining.
Their play ends frequently in a battle ; it there^
fore is lefs dangerous where all are equally
matched. What Somervile fays on this fubjedl
is exceedingly beautiful :

" But here with watchful and obfervant eye.
Attend their frolics, which too often end
In bloody broils and death. High o'er thy head
Wave thy refounding whip, and with a voice
Fierce-menacing o'er-rule the ft-ern debate,
And quench their kindling rage ; for oft in fport
Begiin, combat enfues, growling they fnarJ,
Then on their haunches rear'd, rampant they feize
Each other's throats, with teeth, and claws, in gore
Befmear'd, they wound, they tear, till on the groundj
Panting, half-dead the conquer'd champion lies :
Then fudden all the bafe ignoble crowd
Lond-clanrring feize the helplefs worried wretch, ,
And thirfling for his blood, drag diff'rent ways
His mangled carcafs on th' enfanguln'd plain.
O breafts of pity void ! t' opprefs the weak,
To point your vengeance at the friendlefs head.
And with one mutual cry infult the fall'n !
Emblem too juft of man's degenerate race."

If

THOUGHTS UPON HUNTING. 6^

If you find that they take a diflikc to any parti-
cular hound, the fafefl way will be to remove
him ; or it is probable they will kill him at laft.
When a feeder hears the hounds quarrel in the
kennel, he halloos to them to flop them. He
then goes in amongft them, and flogs every
hound he can come near. How much more rea-
fonable, as well as more efficacious, it would be,
were he to fee which were tlie combatants before
he fpeaks to them. Punifhment would then fall
as it ought, on the guilty only. In all packs
there are fome hounds more cjuarrelfome than the
reft ; and it is to them we owe all the mifchief
that is done. If you find chaftifement cannot
quiet thein, it may be prudent to break their
holders ; for lincc they are not neceffary to them
for the meat they have to eat, they are not likely
to fcrve theni in any good purpofe.

Young hounds ought to be fed twice a day, as
they feldoin take kindly at iirft to the kennel-
meat, and the dillemper is moft apt to feize them
at this time. It is better not to round them till
they are thoroughly fettled ; nor Ihould it be put
off till the hot weather, for then they would
bleed too much.* If any of the dogs be thin

over

* It may be better, perhaps, to round them at their quarters,
when about fix months old; ihould it be done fooner, it would
make their ears tuck up. The tailing of them is ufually done

before

64 THOUGHTS UPON HUNTING,

over the back, or any more quarrclfomc than tli«
reft, it will be of ulc to cut them : I alfo fpay
fuch bitches as I think I fhall not want to breed
from ; they are more ufefuT, are ftouter, and are
always in better order : bclides, it is abfolutely
neceflary if you hunt late in the fpring ; or your
pack will be very fhort for want of it. It may
be right to tell you, that the latter operation
does not always fuccecd, it will be necefTary,
therefore, to employ a flcilful perfon, and one on
whom you can depend; for if it be ill done,
though they cannot have puppies, they will go to
heat notwithfianding, of which I have known
many inllances, and that, I apprehend, v/ould
not anfwer your purpofe at any rate* They fhould
be kept low for feveral days before the operation
is performed, and mull be fed on thin meat for
fome time after.

You afk me what number of young hounds
you fhould breed to keep up your ftock ? it is a
queftion, I believe, no man can anfwer. It de-
pends altogether on contingencies. The defici-
encies of one year muft be fupplicd the next. I
fhould apprehend from thirty to thirty- five couple

before they are put out ; it might be better, perhaps, to leave'
it till thev are taken in. Dogs nuifl not be rounded at the time
they have the diflemper upon them ; the lofs of blood would
weaken them too much.

Pf

THOUGHTS UPON HUNTING. 6^

of old hounds, and from eight to twelve couple
of young ones would, one year with another,
bell iuit an eftablifhment which you do not in-
tend fliould much exceed forty couple. This
rule you fhould at the fame time oblerve — never
to part with an ufeful old hound, or enter an un-
handfome young one.

I would advife you in breeding, to be as little

prejudiced as pollible in favour of your own fort ;

but fend your bed bitches to the bell dogs, be

they where they may. Thofe who breed only

a few hounds may by chance have a good pack,

whilH thofe who breed a great many (if at the

fame time they underfland the bulinefs) reduce

it to a certainty. You fay, you wifli to fee your

pack as complete as Mr. Meynell's : believe me,

my good friend, unlefs you were to breed as many

hounds, it is totally impoffible. Thofe wlio breed

the greatefl number of hounds have a light to

expe6l the bell pack ; at Icaft it mull be their

own fault if they have it not.

V NAMES

66

THOUGHTS UPON HUNTING',

NAMES OF HOUNDS.

A. Jo^s.

Adrefs

^Brazen

Affable

^ Brilliant

A BLE

J^ Ador

Agile

' Brufher

Airy

Brutal

^ Adamant

Amity

^ Burfter

Adjutant
Agent

Angry
Animate

Buftler

Aider

Artilicc

Aim well

'Audible

Amorous

•.

B. hitches.

^ Antic

-<"«"<-.<v..>.>,>»

Anxious

Baneful

/Arbiter

B. dogs.

^Bafhful

Archer

Bauble

Ardent

t Bachelor

Beauteous

Ardor

Banger

Beauty

/ Arroiiant

Baffler

f Beldam

Arfenic

Barbarous

Belmaid

Artful

' Bellman

Blamelefs

Artiit

Bender

Blithfome

Atlas

Blaller

Blowzy

' Atom

f Bluecap

Bluebell

Auditor

Blucman

'BluePxiaid

Au";ur

Bluller

Bonny

Awful

Boafter

' Bonny bell

^ Boifterous

^ Bonnylats

Bonny face

BoundleftJ

Bouncer

Bravery

A. hitches.

Bowler

Brfevity

' Bravo

Brimttone

Accurate

Bragger

Bufy

Aaive

Brawler

( Buxom

C. doi^::

s>

THOUGHTS UPON HUNTING,

67

C. dogs.

Conqueft

Circe

Conftant

Clarinet

Caitiff

Conteft

Clio

^ Capital

Coroner

^ Comely

/ Captain

/ Cottager

Comfort

Captor

/ Counlellor

Comical

Carol

Countryman

Concord

Carver

Courteous

Courtefy

Caller

Coxcomb

Crafty

Caftwell

^ Craftfman

/ Crazy

Catcher

/ Craiher

Credible

Catchpole

Critic

Credulous

^ Caviller

Critical

^ Croney

Cerberus

Crovvncr

Cruel

/ Challenger

/ Cruifer-/)^

Curious

Champion

Cruily

Charon

Cryer

»*<'«^>"*'>' »«

Chalcr

Curfew

^ Chaunter

Currier

D. dogs.

Chieftain

Chimer

/Damper
/ Danger

Chirper

Choleric

C. hitches.

Dangerous

Claimant

Dapper

Clamorous

Capable

Dapller

Clangor

Captious

Darter

^Claihcr

Carelefs

^ Dafher

/ Ciimbank

Careful

Dailiwood

Clinker

Carnage

^ Daunter

Combat

Caution

^ Dexterous

Combatant

Cautious

Dilputant

Comftirtcr

/ Charmer

Downright

Comrade

Chauntrefs

^ Dragon

^ Comus

Ch earful

^ Dreadnought

Confli6l

^ Cherriper

^ Driver

f Conqueror

/ Chorus

/ Duller

F a

D, hlich-ss.

6af

THOUGHTS UPON HUNTINC.

D. hitches.

Dainty

Daphne
^ Darling
'' Da ill a way
^ Dauntlefs

Delicate

Defperate
/ Deiliny
' Dian

Diligent

Docile

Document
^Duubtful

Doubt lefs

Dreadful

Drcadlefs

Dulcet

"♦••(■■♦•0">">">»

E. hitches.

E. dogs.

Eager

Earneil

Eftbrt

Elegant

Eminent

Envious

Envoy

Errant

Excellent

Eafy
Echo
Eellacy
Endlefs
^ Energy
Enmity
Eiiay

••♦•<••<■•<»->•>..>»

F. dogs.

Facliovts

Factor

Fatal

Fearnought
^ Ferryman

Fervent
' Finder

Firebrand

Flagrant

Flalher
/ Flcece'cra

Flinger
/ Flippant
^ Flourilhcr

Flyer

Foamer

Foilcr

Foreman

Forcmoil

Forefight

/ Forellcr
Forward
Fulminant
Furrier

F. hitches.

Fairmaid

Fair pi ay

Faithful

'Famous

Fancyful
/ Fafhion
/ Favourite
* Fearlefs
'Fcftive

Fickle

Fidget

Fiery

Fireaway

Firetail
^ Flighty

Flourilh

Flurry

Forcible

Fretful

Friendly
^Frilky
/ PVolic

3'\"olielbrae
' Funny lafs

Fury

O, do OS.

THOUGHTS UPON HUNTING.

69

/

G. ^ogs,

^ Gainer
^ Gallant

Galliard
/ Galloper
^ Gamboy
'' Gameller

Garrulous

Gazer
^ General

Genius
' Gimcrack

Giant
^ Glanccr

Glider
'' Glorious

Goblin

Governor

Grapler

Grafper

Griper

Growler

Grumbler

Guardian

Guidcr

Guiler

/

/

Gamefome
^ Gameltrefs
/ Gaylafs
Ghaflly
Giddy
Gladnefs
Glad lb me
Governefs
Graceful
Gracelefs
Gracious
Grateful
Gravity
Guilefomc
Guiltlefs
Guilty

G. hitches.

Gaiety
Gainful
Galley
' Gambol

H. dvgs.

/ Hannibal
/ Harbinger
■^ Hardiman

Hardy
/ Harlequin
^ Harrairer
^ Havock
' Hazard

Headftrong
, '' Hearty
^ Heaor

Heedful
^ Hercules

Hero

Highflyer

Hopeful
^ Hotfpur
Humbler
Hurtful

H. hitches.

" Hafty

Handfome
^ Harlot
^ Harmony

Hazardous

Heedlels
^ Helen
^ Heroine

Hideous
'^ Honefty

Hoftile

I. J. dogs.

^Jerker
Jingler
^ Impetus
Jockey
Jolly
' Jolly-boy
/ Jollier
Tovial
^ Jubal
Judgment
''Jumper

F3

I. J. Filches

*j6

THOUGHTS UPON HUNTING.

I. J. hitches.

'''^Jealoufy

Induftry
''Jollity

Joyful
^ Joyous

•.<•.<■■*.<>..>.♦->•.
L. dogs.

Labourer
/ Larum
' Lafher

Lafter

Launcher
'^ Leader
^ Leveller
^ Liberal

Libertine

Li6lor
-^ Lifter
'' Lightfoot

Linguifl

Lillener

Lounger
^ Lueifer
^ Lunatic

Lunger

Lurker

L. hitches,
I^^CfsratG

Laudable

Lavifh.
^ Lawlefs

Lenity

Levity
' Liberty
^ Lightning

Lightfome

Likely
^ Liffome

Litigate

Lively

Lofty
' Lovely

Luckylafs
^ Lunacy

««.*.<..0">'>+"

M. dogs

^ Manager

Manful
^ Markfman

Marplot

Marfchal

Martial
^ Marvellous
/ Match'em

Maxim
^ Maximus

MeaiiweU
^Medler
' Menacer
/ Mendall

Mender
' IMentof

^ Mercury

Merlin

* Merryboy
Merr}man
Mclfnate
Mcihodifl
Mi,^Vity
TNliliiant

^ Minikin

/ Mifr.rcant
Mittimus
Monarch

^ Monitor
Motley

^ Mounter
Mover
Mungo

' Mufical
Mutinous
Mutterer

>^ Myrmidon

M. hitches^

f Madcap

/ Madrigal
^ Magic

Mao;goty
'' MatcJilefs
f Melody

Merrvlafs

]\Jerryment

M'Judful
' Minion

Miriam

Mifchief

THOUGHTS UPON HUNTING.

71

^ Mifchlef
^ Modilh
^ Monody

/ Mufic

N. dogs>

^ Nervous

INefior

Nettler
/ Newfman

Nimrod

■Noble

Nonfuch

Novel

Noxious

N. hitches.

Narrative

Neatnels

Needful

Negative

Nicety

Nimble

Noify

Notable

Notice

Notion

Novelty

Novice

/

P. doo-s.

Paean

Pageant
' Paragon
' Paramount

Partner

Partyman
^ Pealer

Penetrant

Perfedl
^ Perilous

Pertinent

Petulant

Phcebus

Piercer

Pilgrim
^ Pillager

Pilot

Pincher

Piper

Playful

Plodder
^ Plunder
^ Politic

Potent

Prater

Prattler

Premier

Prefident

Prelio

Prevalent

Primate

Principal

Prodigal

Prowler

F4

Prompter
'^ Prophet

Prolper
f Profperous

Pryer

P. hitches^

Paflion
^ Pall j me

Patience

Phoenix
^ Phrenetic
' Phrenzy

Placid

Playful

Plealant

Pliant
^ Pofitive

Precious

Prettylafs

Previous

Prie fiefs

Probity

Prudence

R. dogs^.

Racer
Rafjer
Rally wood
Rambler

Ramper

17-

Ramper

Rampant

Rancour

' Random
Ranger

f Ranfack
Rantaway
Ranter
Rapper

^ Rallcr

"^ Ravager
Ravenous
Ravifaer
Reach er

THOUGHTS UPON HUNTING.

Rumor ^ -Sampler

Kunner ^bampion

Rural Sanction

Rufncr Sapient

^ Riillic ' Saucebox

Saunter

' Scalper

Scamper

R. hitches. Schemer

Scourer"

Scrambler

^Racket
' Rally
Ram pi ill
Rantipole
Reafoncr Rapid •

Rec\or f^'^*-^^ Rapine

Rec\or
Regent
Render
Refonant
Reftive
^ Reveller
'Rifler
Rigid
Rigour
Rincrvvood
Rioter
Rilker
Rockwood
^ Romper
Roufer
Router
Rover
Rudeiliy
Ruffian
' Ruffler

Rapture
' Rarity

Rafhnefs

Rattle

Ravifh

Reptile
' Relblute

Reftlefs
^ Rhaplbdy

Riddance
^ Riot
/ Rival

Roguifh
' Ruin

Rummage

Ruthlefs

«■<■•<-*•<>->->••»'•

S. dogs.
Salient

Screamer
/ Screecher

Scuffler

Searcher

Settler

Sharper

Shifter
^ Signal

Singer

SingwcU
' Skirmifli
' Smoker
' Social

Solomon

Solon

Songfter
^ Sonorous

Soundvvell
' Spanker

Special

Specimen
Speedwell
Spinner
' Splendor
' Splenetic
' Spoiler

Spokefmau

THOUGHTS UPON HUNTING.

73

^ Spokefman
Sportfman
Squabbler
Squeaker
Statefman
Steady
Stickler

Stinger

* Stormer
Stranger
Stripling
Striver
Strivewell
' Stroker
' Stroller
' Struggler
Sturdy-
Subtile
Succour
Suppler
Surly
/ Swaggerer
^ Sylvan

S. hitches.

Sanguine

Sappho

Science

Scrupulous

Shrevvdnefs

Skilful

Songflrefs

Specious

Speedy

Spiteful

Spitfire

Sportful

Sportive

Sportly

Sprightly

' Stately
Stoutnefs
Strenuous
Strumpet
Surety
Sybil

' Synrnhony

•<■■<-<-••♦-»♦"

T. dogs.

Tackier
' Talifman

Tamer
^ Tangent

Tarter
» Tatler
' Taunter
Teafer
Terror
' Thraihcr
Threatner
Thumper
Thunderer
Thvv acker
Thwarter
Tickler
Tomboy
^ Topmoil
^ Topper

Torment
' Torrent
^ Torturer

Tolfer
^ Touchtlone

Tracer
' Tragic

Trampler
^ Tranfit

Tranfport
/ Traveller

Trimbufh.

Trimmer
^ Triumph
^ i rojan

Trouncer
^ Truant

Trudger

Trueboy
• ' Truemari
/ Trufty

Tryal

Tryer

Trywell

Tuner
^ Turbulent

Twanger

Twio-'em

/o
Tyrant

T. hilches^

Tattle
/ Telltale
Tcsupell

Tentative

74

THOITGHTS UPON HUNTING,

/

Tentative

Termagant

Terminate
^ Terrible

Telly

Thankful

Thoughtful
/ Tidings

Toilfome

Tradable
^ Tragedy

Trelpals

Trifle

Trivial
' Trollop

Troublcfome
' Truelafs

Truemaid
'Tunable ■

Tuneful

'■«•< ■<■.<►->•>•♦-

V. dogs.

Vagabond
Va^rrant
Valiant
Valid
Valorous
V^alour
Vaultcr
^ Vauiiter
Venture
Venturer
Venturous

Vermin

Vexer
^ Vidtor
^Vigilant

Vigorous

Vigour
/ Villager

Viper
^ Volant

Voucher

V. hitches.

Vanquifh

Vehemence

Vehement
'Vengeance

Vengeful
/ Venomous

Vcnturefome

Venus

Verify

Verity

Vicious
' Victory

Vi6h-ix

Vigilance

Violent

Viperous

Virulent

Vitiate

Vivid

Vixen
/ Vocal

^^olatile
Voluble

"VV. dogs.

Wanderer

Warbler
^Warnincj
• Warrior

War whoop

Wayward
. Weilbred
^Whipfter
^ W})ynot

Wildair
/ Wild man

Wilful

Wifdom
^ Woodman

Worker

Workman

Worthy
/Wrangler

Wreftler

W. hitches.

Waggery
Waggifh
Wagtail
'VV'^anton
Vv'arfare

Warlike

THOUGHTS UPON HUNTING. ^^

Warlike Welldone Wifhful

Wafpilli ^ Whimfey Wonderful

Wafteful Whirligig Worry

Watchful Wildfire Wrathful

^ Welcome Willing Wreakful

I, E T-

^6 THOUGHTS UPON HUNTINC,

LETTER VL

AFTER the young bounds have been round-
ed, and are well reconciled to the kennel,
know the huntfman, and begin to know their
names, they lliould be put into couples, and
walked out amongll Iheep.

If any be particularly fnappiili and troublc-
fome, you fhould leave the couples loofe about
their necks in the kennel, till you find they are
more reconciled to them. If any be more ftubborn
than tlie reft, you fhould couple them to old
hounds rather than to young ones; and you
ihould not couple livo dogs together when you
can avoid it. Young hounds are awkward atfirft;
I fliould, therefore, advifc you to fend out a few
only at a time with your people on foot; they
will foon afterwards become handy enough to
follow a horfc ; and care fliould be taken that
the couples be not too loofe, lefl they ihould
flip their necks out of the collar, and give trouble
]n catching them again.

When they have been walked often in this
jnanner amongfl thcfhcep, you may then uncouple

THOUGHTS UPON HUNTING. *^^

a few at a time, and begin to chaftife fuch as
offer to run after them ; but you will foon find
that the cry of ivare Jheep will flop them fufhci-
ently without the whip ; and the lefs this is ufed
the better. With proper care and attention you
will foon make them alliamed of it, but if once
fuffered to tafte the blood, you may find it diiR-
cult to reclaim them. Various are the methods
ufed to break fuch dogs from fheep ; fome will
couple them to a ram, but that is breaking them
with a vengeance ; you had better hang thcni. — A
late lord of rny acquaintance, who had heard of this
method, and whofe whole pack had been often
guilty of killing fhecp, determined to puniili them,
and to that intent put the largefl ram he could
find into his kennel. The men with their whips
and voices, and the ram with his horns, loon put
the whole kennel into confufion and difmay,
and the hounds and the ram were then left to-
gether. Meeting a friend foon after, " come,"
fays he, " com.e with me to the kennel, and fcs
" what rare fport the ram makes among the
*' hounds; the old fellow lays about him floutly,
" I afiure you — egad he trims them — there is
*' not a dog dares look him in the face." — His
friend, who is a compaffionate man, pitied the
hounds exceedingly, and alked, if he was not
afraid that fome of tliem might be fpoiled : —
*' No, d— n them," faid he, " they delervc it,
"■ and let them fulFer." — On they went — all vvas

q uiet

J-g THOUGHTS UPOW HUNTING*

quiet — they opened the kennel door, bul faw nei-
ther ram nor hound. The ram by this time was
entirely eaten up, and the hounds having filled
their bellies, were retired to reft.

It without doubt is beft when you air your
hounds to take them out feparately ; the old ones
one day, another day the young ;* but as I find
your hounds are to have their whey at a diftant
dairy, on thofe days, both old and young may
be taken out together, obferving only to take
the young hounds in couples when the old ones
are along with them. Young hounds arc always
ready for any kind of mifchief, and idlenels might
make even old ones too apt to join them in it.
Befides, fhould they break off from the huntf-
man, the whipper-in is generally too ill mounted
at this feafon of the year eafily to head and bring
them back. Run no fuch rilk. My hounds
were near being fpoiled by the mere accident of
a horfe's falling. The whipper-in was thrown
from his horfc; the horfe ran away, and the whole
pack followed : a flock of fheep, which were
at a little diftance, took fright, began to run,
and the hounds purfued them. The molt vi-
cious fet on tlie rcll, and feveral ibeep were foon

* It would be ftill better to take out your hounds every day,
the old and young feparately, when it can be done without in-
convenience; when it cannot, a large grafs-court will partly
znfwer the fame purpofe.

pulled

THOUGHTS UPON HUNTING. 75

pulled down and killed. I mention this to fhew
you what caution is neceflary whillt hounds are
idle ; for though the fall of the horfe was not to
be attributed to any fault of the man, yet had
the old hounds been taken out by themfelves, or
had all the young ones been in couples, it is pro -
bable fo common an accident would not have
produced fo extraordinary an eiTedl.

It is now time to floop them to a fcent. — You
had better enter them at their own game — it will
fave you much trouble afterwards. Many dogs,
I believe, like that fcent bell which they were
firil blooded to ; but be that as it may, it is cer-
tainly moft reafonable to ufe them to that which
it is intended they Ihould hunt. It may not be
amifs, when they iirfi; begin to hunt, to put light
collars on them. Young hounds may ealily get
out of their knowledge ; and thy ones, after they
have been much beaten, may not chufe to return
home. Collars, in that cafe, may prevent their
being loft.

You fliy, you fhould not like to fee your young
hounds run a trail-fcent. I have no doubt that
you would be glad to fee them run over an open
down, where you could fo eafily obferve their
action and their fpeed. I cannot think the doing
of it once or twice could hurt your hounds ; and
and yet as a fportfman, I dare not recommend it

to

So TProUGHTS UPON HUNTING*

to you. All that I Ihall lay of it is, that it would
be Ids bad than entering them at hare. A eat is
as good a trail as any ; but on no account Ihould
any trail be uied after your hounds are Hooped
to a fcent.

I know an old fportfrnan who enters his young
hounds firft at a cat, which he drags along the
ground for a mile or two, at the end of which he
turns out a badger, firft taking care to break his
teeth ; he takes out about two couple of old
hounds alon.o- Aiih the young ones to hold them
on. He never enters his young hounds but at
vermin ; for he fays, '' train up a child in the way
'^ he jJioidd go, and ivhen he is old he will not de-
*' -part from it.'*

Summer hunting, though ufeful to young
hounds, is prejudicial to old ones; I think, there-
fore, you will do well to referve fome of the befl
of your' draft-hounds to enter your young hounds
with, feledling fuch as are moft likely to fet them
a good example. I need not tell you they fhould
not be flvirters ; but, on the contrary, fhould be
fair hunting hounds, fuch as love a fcent, and
that hunt clofeft on the line of it ; it will be ne-
cellary that fome of them fliould be good finders,
and all mufl be fteady : thus you procure for
your young hounds the belt inftru6lors, and at
the fame time prevent two evils, which would

neceffarily

THOUGHTS UPON HUNTING. Si

iiecefTarily enfue, were tliey taught by the whole
pack ; one, that of corrupting, and getting into
fcrapes, fuch as are not much wifer than them-
felves ; and the other, that of occalioning much
flogging and rateing, which always fliies and in-
terrupts the hunting of an old hound. An old
iiound is a faffacious animal, and is not fond of
trufting himfelf in the way of an enraged whipper-
in, who, as experience has taught him, can flogfe-
verely, and can flog unjultly. — By attending to this
advice, you will improve one part of your pack
without prejudice to the other; whillt fuch as
never feparate their young hounds from the old,
are not likely to have any of them fleady.

You atk, at what time you fliould begin to en-
ter your young hounds ? — that queftion is eafily
anfwered ; for you certainly fliould begin with
them as foon as you can. The time mufl vary in
different countries : in corn countries it may not
be poflible to hunt till after the corn is cut ; in
grafs countries you may begin fooner ; and in
woodlands you may hunt as foon as you pleafe.
If you have plenty of foxes, and can afford to
make a facrifice of fome of them for the fake of
making your young hounds lleady, take them
iirfl where you have leali riot, putting fome of
the l^eadiefl of your old hounds amongft them.
If in fuch a place you arc fortunate enough to find
a litter of foxes you, may affure yourfelf you will

G have

^2 THOUGHTS UPON HUNTING.

have but little trouble with your young houn(^9
afterwards.

Such young hounds an are moll- riotous at tiiTt,
generally fpeaking, I think, are bell in the end.
A gentleman in my rieighbourhood was {o tho-
rouglily convinced of this, that he complained
bitterly of a young pointer to the pertbn who gave
it him, becaufe he had done no iinfchle.f. How-
ever, meeting the fame perfon tome time after, he
told him the dog he believed would prove a good
one at lafl. — " How fo ?" replied his friend, ** it
'^ was but the other day that you faid he was good
'' for nothing." — " True; hut he has killed me time-
*' teen iurlcles fmce that"

If, owing to a fcarcity of foxes, you fhould iloop
your hounds at hare, let them by no means have
the blood of her ; nor, for the fake of confiil-
ency, give them much encouragement. Hare-
hunting has one advantage — hounds are chiefly
in open ground, where you can eatily command
them ; but, notwithflanding that, if foxes be in
tolerable plenty, keep them to their own game,
and forget not the advice of the old fportlman.

Frequent hallooing is of ufe with young hounds j
it keeps them forward, prevents their being lofl,
and hinders them from hunting after the reft. The
oftener therefore a fox is feen and hallooed, the

better;

THOUGHTS UPON HUNTING. gj

better ; it ferves to let them in, makes them ea^er,
makes them exert themfelves, and teaches them to
be handy. I muft tell you, at the fame time I fay
this, that I by no means approve of much halloo-
ing to old hounds ; and though I frequently arri
guilty ofit myfelf, it is owing to my fph-its, which
lead me into an error which my judgment con-
demns. It is true, there is a time when halloo-
ing is of ufe ; a time when it does hurt; and a
time when it is perfe^lly inditferent : but it is long
practice, and great attention to hunting, that mud
teach you the application.

Hounds, at their firfl entering, cannot be en-
couraged too much. When they become handy,
love a fcent, and begin to know what is right, it
will be foon enough to chaftife them for doii:g
ivrong ; in which cafe, one fevere beating will
fave a deal of trouble. You fhould recommend
to your v/hipper-in, when he flogs a hound, to
make ufe of his voice as well as his v^-hip ; and kt
him remember, that the fmack of the whip is
often of as much ufe as the lafh, to one that has
felt it. If any be very unlieady, it will not be
amiis to fend them out by themfelves, when the
men go out to exerclfe their horles. If you have
hares in plenty, let fome be found fitting, and
turned out before them ; and you will foon find
the mod riotous w^ill not run after them. If yoa
jntend them to be made tleady from deer, they

G 2 fhould

84 THOUGHTS UPON HUNTING.

Ihould often fee deer, and they will not regard
them ; and it', after a probation of this kind, yoa
turn out a cub before them, with fome old hounds
o lead them on, you may affure yourfelf they
will not be unfteady long; for as Somervile
rightly obferves,

" Eafy the lefTon of the youthful train,

When inrtinft prompts, and when example guides."

Flogging hounds in the kennel, the frequent
pradice of moft huntfmen, I hold in abhorrence :
it is unreafonable, unjufi, and cruel ; and carried
to the excefs we fometimes lee it, is a difgrace to
humanity. Hounds that are old offenders, that
are very riotous, and at the fame time very cun-
ning, it may be difficult to catch : fnch hounds

may be excepted they deferve punifliment

wherever taken, and you fhould not fail to give
it them ivhenyou can. — This you will allow is a
particular cafe, and neceility may excufe it — but
let not the peace and quiet of your kennel be
often thus diilurbed. When your hounds offend,
punilh them: — when caught in the fa6t, then let
them fuffer — and if you be levere, at leafi: be juft.

When your young hounds floop to a feent, are
become handy, know a rate and ftop eaiily, you
may then begin to put them into the pack, a few
only at a time ; nor do I think it advifeablc to begin

this.

THOUGHTS UPON HUNTING. 85

this, iill the pack have been out a (cw times by
themfelves, and are gotten well in blood. I
ihould alio advife you to take them the firit day
where they are moft fure to find ; as long refl
makes all hounds riotous, and they may do that
en gaiete de cmir^ which they would not think of at
another time. Let ^^our hounds be low in flefh,
when you begin to hunt ; the ground is generally
hard at that lealbn, and they are liable to be
ihaken.

If your covers be large, you will find the flrait
horn of ufe, and I am forry to hear that you do
not approve of it. — You afk me why I like it ? —
not as a muftcian^ I can afTure you. — It lignifies
little in our way what the noife is, as long as it
^s underftood.

G % LET-

S6 THOUGHTS UPON HUNTING.

LETTER Vir.

T TNLESS I had kept a regular journal of all that
^^ has been done in the kennel from the time
when my young hounds were tirll taken in, to the
end of the laft feafon, it would be impolfible, J
think, to anfwer all the queftions which in your lafi
letter you aik concerning them. I wifh that a me-
mory', which is far from a good one, would en-
able me to give the information you defire. If I
am to be more circumftantial than in my former
letter, I muil recollecV, as well as I can, the re-
gular fyftem of my own kennel ; and if I am tq
write from memory, you will, without doubt, ex-
cufe the want of the lucidus ordo : — it fhall be my
endeavour, that the information thefe letters con-
tain, fhall not miflead you.

You wifh me to explain what I mean by
hounds being handy — it retpe(51s their readinefs to
do whatever is required of them ; and particularly,
when call:, to turn eafdy whicli way the huntf-
man pleaies.*

* My hounds are frequently walked about the courts of the
kennel, the whipper-in following them, and rating them after
the huntfman ; this, and the fending them out, (after they have
been fed,) with the people on foot, contribute greatly to make
them handy.

I was

THOUGHTS UPON HUNTING. 87

I was told the other day by a fportfrnan, that
he confiders the management of hounds as a re-
gular fyllem of education, from the time when
they are firft taken into the kennel : I perfe611y
agree wlih this gentleman; and am well con-
vinced, that if you expect fagacity in your hound
when he is old, you muft be mindful what in-
ftru6tion he receives from you in his youth ; for
as he is of all animals the moft docile, he is alfo
mofr liable to bad habits. A diverfity of
chara6ler, conftitution, and difpoiition, arc to be
obferved amongil them ; which, to be made the
mofl of, muft be carefully attended to, and dif-
ferently treated. I do not pretend to have fuc-
ceeded in it myfelf ; yet you will perceive, per-
haps, that I have paid fome attention to it.

I begin to hunt with my youngbounds in Augufl.
The employment of my huntfman the preceding
months is to keep his old hounds healthy and
quiet, by giving them proper exercifei and to get
his young hounds forward.* They are called
over often in the kennel ; it ufes them to their
names, to the huntfman, and to the whipper-in.

* Nothing will anfwer this purpofe fo well as taking them
put often. Let your huntfman lounge about with them— nothing
will make them fo handy. Let him get off his horfe frequently,
and encourage them to come to him,— nothing will familiarize
them fo much.— Too great reftraint will oftentimes incline
hounds to be riotous.

G 4 They

88 THOUGHTS UPON HUNTING.

They are walked out often among fheep, hares,
and deer : it iifes them to a rate. Sometimes he
turns down a cat before them, which they hunt
up to, and kill : and, when the time of hunting
approaches, he turns out badgers or young foxes,
taking out fome of the fieadleft of his old hounds
to lead them on — this teaches them to hunt. He
draws fmall covers and furze brakes with them,
to ufe them to a halloo, and to teach them obedi-
ence. If they find improper game, and hunt it,
they are flopped and brought back ; and as long
as they will flop at a rate, they are not chaflifed.
Obedience is all that is required of them, till they
have been fufhciently taught the game they are
to purfue. An obftinate deviation from it after-
wards is never 'pardoned. It is an oblervation of
the Marchefe Beccaria, that ' ' La certezza di un
*' caftigo, benche moderato, fara fempre una
*' maggiore impreflione, che non il timore di un
*' altro piu terribilc, unito colla fperanza, della
" 'impunita."

When my young hounds are taken out to air,
my huntfman takes them into that country in
which they are to hunt. It is attended with this
advantage ; they acquire a knowledge of the
country, and when left behind at any time, can-
iiot fail to find their way home more eafily.

When

THOUGHTS UPON HUNTIKG. 89

When they beghi to hunt, they are firfl: taken
into a large cover of my own, which has many
ridings cut in it ; and where young foxes are
turned out every year on purpofe for them. Here
they arc taught the fcent they are to follow, are
encouraged to purfue it, and arc ftopped from
every other. Here they are blooded to fox. I
muft alfo tell you that as foxes are plentiful in
this cover, the principal earth is not ftopped, and
the foxes are checked back, or fome of them let
in, as may bed fuit the purpofe of blooding. After
they have been hunted a few days in this manner,
they are then fent to more diftant covers, and
more old hounds are added to them ; there they
continue to hunt till they are taken into the pack,
which is feldom later than the beginning of Sep-
tember ; for by that time they will have learned
what is required of them, and they feldom give
much trouble afterwards.* In September I begin
to hunt in earnefl, and after the old hounds have
killed a (q\v foxes, the young hounds are put into
the pack, two or three couple at a time, till all
have hunted. They are then divided ; and as I
feldom have occafion to take in more than nine or
ten couple, one half are taken out one day, the
other half the next, till all are fteady.

* Sport in fox-hunting cannot be faid to begin before 0 1^0-
ber, but in the two preceding months, a pack is either made or
marred.

Two

90 THOUGHTS UPON HUNTING.

Two other methods of entering young hounds
I have praftifed occaiionally, as the number of
hounds have required ; for inltance, if that num-
l>er be conliderable, (fifteen or lixteen couple,) I
make a large draft of my fleadieft hounds, which
are kept with the young hounds in a feparate
kennel, and are hunted with them all the firli part
of the fcafon. This, when the old hounds begin
to hunt, makes two difiin6l" packs, and is always
attended with great trouble and inconvenience.
Nothing hurts a pack fo much as to enter many
young hounds, lince it mufl be coniiderably
weakened by being robbed of thofe which are the
moft iteady ; and yet j'oung hounds can do
nothing whhout their affiftance. Such, therefore,
as conflantly enter their young hounds in this
manner, will, fomelimes at leafi, have two indif-
ferent packs, inllead of one good one.

In the other method the young hounds are well
awed from iheep, but never ftooped to a fcent,
till they are taken out with the pack ; they are
then taken out a few only at a time ; and if your
pack be perfedtly fieady, and well manned, mav
not give you much trouble. The metiiod I hrit
mentioned, is that 1 moft commonly pracrife, be-
ing moft fuitable to the number of young hounds
I ufually enter — nine or ten couple: if you have
fewer, the laft will be moft. convenient. The one
which requires two diftin<5l packs, is on too ex-
4 tenlive

THOUGHTS UPON HUNTING. ^I

teniive a plan to fait your edablifhment, requiring
more horfes and hounds than you intend to keep.*

Though I have mentioned, in a former letter,
from eight to twelve couple of young hounds, as
a fufficient number to keep up your pack to its
prefent eflablifhment ; yet it is always bell to have
a referve of a few couple more; than you want, in
cafe of accidents : iince from the time you make
your draft, to the time of hunting, is a long
period ; and their cxiftence at that age and feafon
very precarious : beiides, when they are fafe from
the diforder, they are not always fafe from each
pther ; and a fummer ieldom palfes without fome

* To render fox-hunting perfecR', no young hounds fhould
be taken into the pack the firfi: feafon — a requifite too expenfive
for mo ft fportfinen. The pack fhould conflft of about forty
fouple of hounds, that have hunted, one, two, three, four, or
five feafons. The young pack fliould confifl of about twenty
couple of young hounds, and about an equal number of old ones.
They fliould have a feparate eftablifhment, nor fhould the two
kennels be ns^ar enough to interfere vs^ith each other. Tlie fea-
fon over, the befl of the young hounds fliould be taken into the
pack, and the draft of old ones exchanged for them. To enabla
j'ou every feafon to take in tvyenty couple of young hounds,
many m;ift be bred ; and of courfe the greater your choice, the
handfomer your pack will become. It will ah.viiy:> be eafy to
keep up the number of old hounds, for when your own
draft is not fufhcient, drafts from other packs may eafiiy be ob»
tained, and at a fmallexpence. When young hounds are hunted
together the firil feafon, and have not a fufficient number of old
hounds along with them, it does them more harm than good.

lolfes

92 THOUGHTS UPON HUNTING.

loffes of that kind. At the fame tirrwf T mUft tell
you, that I Ihould decline entering more than are
necelTary to keep up the pack, fiiice a greater
number would only create ufelefs trouble and
vexation.

You with to know what number of old hounds
you fliould hunt with the young ones : — that
muft depend on the flrength of your pack, and
the number which you choofe to fpare ; if good
and fleady, ten or twelve couple will be fuf-
ticicnt.

My young hounds, and luch old ones as are
intended to hunt along with them,* are kept in a
kennel by themfelves, till the young hounds are
hunted with the pack. I need not, I am fure,
enumerate the many reafons that make this regu-
lation neceflary.

I never truil my young hounds in the foreft till
they have been well blooded to fox, and feldoni
put more than a couple into the pack at a time.-f-

* Some alfo take out their unfteady hounds, when they en-
ter the young ones ; T doubt the propriety of it.

f T fometimes fend all my young hounds together into the
foreft, with four or five couple of old hounds only ; fuch as I
know they cannot fpoil. As often as any of them break off" to
deer, they are taken up, and {log<^ed. When they lofe onefox^
they try for another ; and are kept out, till they are all made
tolerably fleady.

The

THOUGHTS UPON HUNTING. 93

The others are walked out amongll: the deer,
when the men exercile their horfes, and are fevcrely
chaftifed if they take any notice of them. They
alfo draw covers with them ; chooting out fuch,
where they can bell fee their hounds, and moft
eatily command them ; and where there is the
leait cliance to find a fox. On thefe occafions I
had rather they fhould have to rate their hounds
than encourage tliem. It requires lefs judgment ;
' and, if improperly done, is lefs dangerous in its
confequences. One halloo of encouragement to
a wrong fcent, more than undoes all that you
have been doing.

When young hounds begin to love a fcent, it
may be of ufe to turn out a badger before them ;
you will then be able to difcover what improve-
ment they have made ; 1 mention a badger, on a
fuppofition that young foxes cannot lb well be
fpared ; belidcs, the badger, being a flower
animal, he may calily be followed, and driven
the way you choole he fliould run.

The day you intend to turn out a fox, or
badger, you will do well to fend them amongft
hares, or deer. A little rating and flogging, be-
fore they are encouraged to vermin, is of the
greateft ufe, as it teaches them as well what they
iliould not, as what they fhould do. I have
known a badger run fcveral miles^ if judicioufly
5 managed ;

94 THOUGHTS UPON HUNTING.

managed; for which purpofe he fhould be turned
out in a very open country, and followed by a
perfon who has more fcnfe than to ride on the
line of him. If he do not meet with a cover or
hedge in his way, he will keep on for feveral
miles ; if he do, you will not be able to get him
any farther. You fliould give him a great deal
of law, and you will do well to break his teeth.--

If you run any cubs to ground in an indifferent
country, and do not want blood, bring them
home, and they will be of ufe to your young
hounds. Turn out bag foxes to your young
hounds, but never to your old ones. I obje6l: to
them on many accounts ; but of bag foxes I fhall
have occalion to fpeak hereafter.

The day after your hounds have had blood, is
alfo a proper time to fend them where there is riot,
and to chaftife them if they defer ve ; it is always
befl to corre6l them when they cannot help
knowing what they are corredted for. When you
fend out your hounds for this purpoie, the later
they go out the better, as the worfe the fcent is
the lefs inclinable will they be to run it, and of

* The critic fays, " there is neither jiiftice nor equity in
breaking his teeth." (Vide Monthly Review.) I confefs there
is not, and I never know that it is done, but 1 feel all the force
of the obfervation. Let neeejfity^ if it be able, plead in its
excufe.

courfe

THOUGHTS UPON HUNTIMG. 95

courfe will give lefs trouble in Hopping them. It
is a common practice with huntfmen to flog their
hounds moil unmercifully in the kennel : I have
already mentioned my difapprobation of it :
but if many of your hounds be obilinately rio-
tous,* you may with lefs impropriety put a live
hare into the kennel to them, flogging them as
often as they appproach her ; they will then have
fome notion, at leafl, for what they are beaten :
but let me entreat you, before this charivari-^
begins, to draft off your hounds ; an animal to
whom we owe fo much good diverfion fhould not
be ill ufed unneceffarily. When a hare is put
into the kennel, the huntfman and both the
whippers-in fhould be prefent ; and the whippers-
in fhould flog every hound, calling him by his
name, and rateing him as often as he is near the
hare ; and, upon this occafion, they cannot cut
them too hard, or rate them too much. When-

* This paflage has alfo been thought deferving of cenfure,
though its motive is humane. By thefe means, the difobedient
are taught obedience, and a more general punifhment prevented;
which the efFefl of bad example might otherwife make ne-
celTary.

f A confiifion arifing from a variety of noifes. It is a cuf-
tom in France, and in Switzerland, if a woman marry fooner
than is ufual after the death of her huftaild ; or a woman get
the better ui her hufband when attempting to chaftife her, and
return the beating with iritereft — the neighbours give them a
tharivari — a kind of concert compofed of tongs, fire-lhovJs,
kettles, brafs pans, &c. &c,

they

96 THOUGHTS UPON HUNTINGT.

they think they have chaftifed them enough, the
hare fhould then be taken away, the huntfman
fhould halloo off his hounds, and the whippers-
in fliould rate thcni to him. If any one love
hare more than the rell, von may tie a dead one
round his neck, flogging him and rating him at
the lame time. This poliibly may make him
afhamed of it. I never bought a lot of hounds,
fome of which were not obliged to undergo this
difcipline. Either hares are lefs plentiful in other
countries, or other Iportimcn are Icfs nice in
making their hounds iteady irom them.

I would advile you to hunt your large covers
with your young hounds : it will tire them out;*
a neceflary ftep towards making them (teady ;
will open the cover againft the time you begin in
earned, and by dilturbing the large covers early
in the year, foxes v.ill be Ihy of them in the
feafon, and ihcw you better chaccs ; betides, as
they are not likely to break from thence, you can

* Provided that you have old hounds enough out, to carry
on the fcent; if you have not a body of old hounds to keep
up a try on the right fcent, the young ones, as foon as the
ground becomes foiled, v.'ill be fcattered about the cover, hunt-
ing old fcents, and will not get on faft enough to tire them-
felves. Young hounds fliould never be taken into large covers,
where there is much riot, unlefs whippers-in can eafily get at
tliem.

do

' tHOtrGHTS UPON HU^^TING. ^^

do no hurt to the corn, and may begin before It
is cut.

If your hounds be very riotous, and you arc
obhged to ftop them often from hare, it will be
advifeable to try on (however late it may be) till
5^ou find a fox ; as the giving them encouragement
fhould, at fuch a time, prevail over every other
conlideration.

Though all young hounds are given to riot,
yet the better they are bred, the lefs trouble they
will be likely to give. Pointers well-bred Itand
naturally, and high-bred fox-hounds love their
own game beft. Such, however, "as are very
riotous, fliould have little reft ; you fliould hunt
them one day in large covers where foxes arc in
plenty ; the next day they fliould be walked out
amongft hares and deer, and flopped from riot ;
the day following be hunted again as before. Old
hounds, which I have had from other packs, (par-
ticularly fuch as have been entered at hare) I
have fometimes found incorrigible ; but I never
yet knew a young hound fo riotous, but, by this
management, he foon became fteady.

When hounds are rated, and do not anfwer
the rate, they fhould be coupled up immediately,
and be made to know the whipper-in ; in all
probability this method will fave any farther

H trouble.

^8 THOUGHTS UPON HUNTING.

trouble. Thel'e fellows fometimes flog houndi
unmercifully, and fome of them feem to take
pleafure in their cruelty ; I am fure, however, I
need not defire you to prevent any excefs in cor-
re61:ion.

I have heard that no fox-hounds will break of£
to deer after once a fox is found. — 1 cannot fay
the experience T have had of this diveriion will
m any wife juflify the remark ; let me advife you,
therefore, to feek a furer dependence. Before you
hunt your good hounds where hares are in plenty,
let them be awed and flopped from hare : before
you hunt amongft deer, let them not only fee
deer, but let them draw covers where deer are ;
for you muft not be furprifed, if, after they are
fo far fleady as not to run them in view, they
Ihould challenge on the fecnt of them. Unlefs
you take this meihod with your young hounds
before you put them into the pack, you will run
a rifr of corrupt! ig the old ones, and may fufler
continual vexation by hunting with unfleady
hounds. I have already told you, that after my
young hou:-ds are taken into the pack, I ilill
take out but very fev/ at a time when I hunt
among deer. I alfo change them when I take
out others, for the fleadinefs they may have ac-
quired could be but little depended on, were they
to meet with any encouragement to be riotous.

I con-

THOUGHTS UPON HUNTING. 99

i confefs I think firll Impreffions of more con-
sequence than they are in general thought to be ;
I not only enter my young hounds to vermin on
that account, but I even ule them, as early as I
can, to the ftrongeft covers and thickeil brakes ;
and I feldom find that they are fhy of them after-
wards. A friend of mine has alTured me, that
he once entered a fpaniel to fnipes, and the dog
ever after was partial to them, preferring them to
every other bird.

If you have martin cats within your reach, as
all hounds are fond of their fcent, you will do
well to enter your young hounds in the covers
they frequent. The martin cat being a fmall
animal, by running the thickeft brakes it can
£nd, teaches hounds to run cover, and is there-
fore of the greateft ufe. I do not much approve
of hunting them with the old hounds; they fhew
but little fport; are continually climbing trees;
and as the cover they run feldom fails to fcratch
and tear hounds conliderably, I think you might
be forry to fee your whole pack disfigured by it.
The agility of this little animal is really wonder-
ful ; and though it falls frequently from a tree,
in the midit of a whole pack of hounds, all in-
tent on catching it, there are but few inftances,
I believe, of a martin's being caught by them in
that lituation.

H 2 l^

loo THOUGHtS UPON HUNTINCi.

In fummer hounds might hunt in an evening:
— I know u pack, that after having killed one
fox in the morning with the young hounds, killed
another in the evening with the old ones. Scent
generally lies well at the elofe of the day, yet
there is a great obje6lion to hunting at that time;
— animals are then more cafily difturbed, and
you have a greater variety of icents than at an
earlier hour.

Having given you all the information that I
can poffibly recolledl:, with regard to my own
management of young hounds, I fliall now take
notice of that part of your lafl letter, where, I
am forry to find, our opinions differ. — Obedience,
you fay, is every thing neceffary in a hound, and
that it is of little confequenee by what means it
is obtained. I cannot concur altogether in that
opinion ; for I think it very necelfary, that the
hound lliould at the fame time underlland you.
Obedience, under proper management, will be a
necefTary confequenee of it. Obedience, furely,
is not all that is required of them ; they fliould
be taught to diflinguifh of themfelves right from
wrong, or I know not how they are to be ma-
naged ; when, as it frequently happens, we can-
not fee what they are at, and mufl take their
words for it. A hound that hears a voice which
has often rated him, and that hears the whip he
has often felt, I know, will flop. I alfo know,

he

THOUGHTS UPON HUNTING. lOt

he will commit the fame fault again, if he has
been accuftomcd to be guilty of it.

Obedience, you very rightly obferve, is a ne-
ceffary quality in a hound, for he is ufelefs with-
out it. It is, therefore, an excellent principle
for a huntfman to {et out upon ; yet, good as it is,
I think it may be carried too far. I would not
have him infill on too much, or torment his
hounds inal-ci-propos, by forcibly exacting from
them what is not abfolutely neceffary to your dl -
verfion. You fay, he intends to enter your hounds
at hare : — is it to teach them obedience ? Does
he mean to encourage vice in them for the fake
of corre6ling it afterwards ? — I have heard, in-
deed, that the way to make hounds fteady from
hare, is to enter them at hare:* that is, to en-
courage them to hunt her. The belief of fo
flrange a paradox requires more faith than I can
pretend to.

It concerns rac to be under the neceflity of dif^
fering from you in opinion ; but iince it cannot
now be helped, wc will purfue the fubjecV, and
examine it throughout. Permit me then to afk

* In proper hands either method may do. The method
here propofed feems beft fuited to fox-hounds in general, a?
well as to thofe who have the direction of them. The talents
of fome men are fuperior to all rules ; nor i? their fuccefs any
pofitive proof of the g0(^dnefs cf their method.

TI 3 you

102 THOUGHTS UPON HUNTING.

you, what It is you propofe from entering your
hounds at hare ? Two advantages, I fhall pre-
fume, you expect from it — the teaching of your
hounds to hunt, and teaching them to be obe-
dient. However neceffary you may think thefe
requifites in a hound, I cannot but flatter myfelf
that they are to be acquired by lefs exceptionable
means. The method I have already mentioned
to make hounds obedient, as it is pra6lifed in my
own kennel — that of calling them over often in
the kennel, to ufe them to their names,* and
walking them out often amongfl fheep, hares, and
deer, from which they are flopped to ufc them
to a rate, in my opinion, would anfwer your
purpofe better. The teaching your hounds to
hunt, is by no means fo neceirary as you feem
to imagine. Nature will teach it them, nor need
you give yourfelf fo much concern about it. Art
only will be necefTary to prevent them from hunt-
ing what they ought not to hunt ; and do you
think your method a proper one to accom-
plifh it ?

The firil and moll: cffential thing towards
making hounds obedient, I fuppofe, is to make
them underftand you ; nor do I apprehend that
you will find any difficulty on their parts, but fuch

* Vide note page 43.

THOUGHTS UPON HUNTING. 103

as iTiay be occasioned on your's.* The language
we ule to them to convey our meaning fhould
never vary ; flill lefs fhould wc alter the very
meaning of the terms we ufe. "Would it not be
abfurd to encourage when we mean to rate ? and
if we did, could we expecl to be obeyed ? You
will not deny this, and yet you are guilty of no
lefs an inconliftency, when you encourage your
hounds to run a fcent to-day, which you know,
at the fame time, you muft be obliged to break
them from to-morrow — is it not running counter
to juflice and to rcalbn ?

I confefs there is fome ufe in hunting young
hounds, where you can eafily command them;
but even this you may pay too dearly for. Enter
your hounds in fmall covers, or in fuch large
ones as have ridings cut in them ; whippers-ia
can then get at them, can always fee what they
are at, and I have no doubt that you may have a
pack of fox-hounds ready to fox by this means,
without adopting lb prepofterous a method as
that of firft making have-hunters of them. You
will find, that hounds thus taught what game
they are to hunt, and what they arc not, will

* Were huntfmen to fcream continually to their hounds,
ufing the fame halloo whether they were drawing, carting, or
running, the hounds could not underftand them, and probably
U'ould fhew, on every occafion, as little attention to them as
they would deferve.

H 4 flop

I04 THOUGHTS UPON HUNTIKG,

ftop at a word, becaufethey will underftand you:
and, after they have been treated in this manner^
a fmav-k only of t4ie whip will fpare you the in-
humanity of cutting your hounds in pieces (not
very jultly) for faults which you yourfelf have
enccaraged them to commit.

In your lafi letter you fcem very anxious to
get y(>ur young hounds well blooded to fox, at
the fame time that you talk of entering them at
hare. How am I to reconcile fach contradidlions ?
If the blood of fox be of fo much ufe, furely
you cannot think the blood of hare a matter of
indilFercnce ; unlefs you ihould be of opinion,
that a fox is better eating. You may think, per-
haps, it was not intended they Hiould hunt fheep;
yet we very well know, when once they have
l^:iUed fheep, that they have no difllke to mutton
afterwards.

You have conceived an idea, perhaps, that a
fox-hound is defigned by nature to hunt a fox^
Yet, furely, if that were your opinion, you would
not think of entering him at any other game. I
cannot, however, fuppofe nature defigned the
dog, which we call a fox-hound, to hunt fox
only, fmce, we very well know, he Vvill alfo hunt
other Tinimals. That a well bred fox-hound may
give a preference to ^xrmin, c^vteris far'ihus^ \
will not dilpute : it is very pofiible he may ; but

of

THOUGHTS UPON HUNTING. I05

of this I am certain — that every fox-hound will
leave a bad fcent of fox for a good one of either
hare or deer^ unlefs he has been made Heady from
them ; and in this I fhall not fear to be contra-
dicted. But as I do not vvifh to enter mto ab-
ftrufe reafoning with you, or think it in anywiie
material to our prefent purpofe, whether the dogs
we call fox-hounds were originally deiigned by
nature to hunt fox or not ; we will drop the
fubjedl:. I mufl at the fame time beg leave to
obferve, that dogs are not the only animals in
which an extraordinary diverfity of fJDecies has
happened fince the days of Adam : yet a great
naturaliil tells us, that man is nearer, by eight
degrees, to Adam, than is the dog to the iirll
dog of his race ; Hnce the age of man is bur-
fcore years, and that of a dog but ten. It thcie-
fore follows, that if both fhould equally degene-
rate, the alteration would be eight times more
remarkable in the dog than in man.

The two mofl necefiary queflions which refult
from the foregoing premifes, are — whether hounds
entered at hare are perfeClly fteady, afterwards,
to fox— -and', whether fleadinefs be not attainable
by more reafonable means ? Having never hunted
with gentlemen who foUqw this pradHce^ I muft
leave the firft queflion for other^^! to deternine;
but having always had my hounds ftead\ , I can
myfclf anfwer the fcconcL

The

X06 THOUGHTS UPON HUNTING.

The obje6lions I have now made to the treat-
ment of young hounds by fome huntfmen, though
addreffed, my friend, to you, are general ol:)jec-
tions, and Ihould not perfonally offend you, I
know no man more juft, or more humane, than
yourfelf. The difapprobation you fo firongly
marked in your laft letter of the feverity ufed in
fome kennels, the noble animal we both of us
admire is much beholden to you for. Your in-
tention of being preknt yourfelf the firfl: time a
hound is flogged, to fee how your new whipper-in
behaves himfelf, is a pro jf of benevolence, which
the Italian author of the moll humane book,"*
could not fail to commend you for. Huntfmen
and whippersin ^e feldom fo unlucky as to have
your feelings ; yet cufrom, which authorifes them
to flog hounds unmercifully, does not do away
the barbarity of it. — A gentleman feeing a girl
fkinning eels alive, allced her, " if it was not
*' very cruel !" — " O not at all, Sir," replied the
girl, " they he vfed to it."'

<
* Dei delitti e delle pene.

LET-

THOUGHTS UPON HUNTING. ICJ

LETTER VIII.

YOU dciire to know if there be any remedy
for the diftemper among dogs. I Ihall,
therefore, mention all the dilbrders which my
hounds have experienced, and point out the re-
medies which have been of fervice to them. The
diftemper you inquire about is, I beheve, the
moft fatal (the plague only excepted) that any
animal is fubjedl to. Though not long known in
this country, it is almoft inconceivable what
numbers have been deitroyed by it in lb fhort a
period; feveral hundreds I can rayfclf place to
this mortifying account. It feems happily to be
now on the decline ; at leaft, is lefs frequent and
more mild ; and probably in time may be en-
tirely removed. The effecls of it are too gene-
rally known to need any defcription of them
here; I wifh the remedies were known as well !

A brother fportfman communicated to me a
remedy, which, he faid, his hounds had found
great benefit from, viz. an ounce of Peruvian
hark, in a glajs of Tort wine, taken twice a day. —
It is not infallible; but in fome Hages of this

dif-

108 THOUGHTS UPON" HUNTING.

diforcler is certainly of ufe. The hound moil m-
feded, that ever I knew to recover, was a large
ilag-hound; he \ny five days without being able
to get off the bench ; receiving little nourifhment
durhig the whole time of the diforder, except
the medicine, with which he drank three bot-
tles of Port wine. You may think, perhaps,
the feeder drank his fhare — it is probable he
irJght, had it not been fent ready mixed up with
the bark. I once tried the foudre unique, think-
ing it a proper medicine for a diforder which is
faid to be putrid ; but I cannot fay any thing in
its favour, with regard to dogs, at leaft. Nor-
ris's drops I have alio given, and v/ith fuccefs. I
gave a large table- fpoonful of them in an equal
quantity of Port wine, three times a day; as the
dog grew better, I leficned the quantity. When
dogs run much at the nofe, nothing will contri-
bute more to the cure of them than keeping that
part clean ; when that cannot conveniently be
done, emetics will be necelTary: the beft I know
is a large fpoonful of common fait, difTolved in
three fpoonfuls of warm water.* The iirft fymp-
tom of this diforder generally is a cough. As
foon as it is perceived amongft my young hounds,
great attention is paid to them : they have plenty

* The quantity of fait muft be proportioned to the fize of
t]ie dog, and to the difficulty there may be to make iiim va-,
niit.

3 of

THOUGHTS UPON HUNTING. 109

of clean ftraw, and are fed oftener and better
than at other times ; as long as they continue to
eat the kennel meat, they are kept together; as
loon as any of them refufe to feed, they are re-
moved into another kennel, the door of the
lodging-room is left open in the day, and they
are only Ihut up at night : being out in the air is
of great fervice to them. To fuch as are very
bad, I give Norris's drops ; to others, emetics;
whilft fome only require to be better fed than or-
dinary, and need no other remedy.* They
ihould be fed from the kitchen, when they re-
fufe the kennel meat. Sometimes they will lofe
the ufe of their hinder parts ; bleeding tliera, by
cutting of the lail joint of the tail, may, per-
haps, be of fervice to them. I cannot fpeak of
it with any certainty, yet I have reafon to think
that I once faved a favourite dog by this opera-
tion. In fhort, by one method or another, I
think they may always be recovered.

The likelleft prefervative for thofe that are
well is keeping them warm at night, and feeding
them high. This diforder being probably infec-
tious, it is better to provide an hofpital for fuch
as are feiz,ed with it, which fhould be in the

* Hounds that have the dulemper upon them have but lit-
tle appetite. By feeding two or three together, they eat more
greedily.

back

no THOUGHTS UPON HUNTING.

back part of the kennel. There is no doubt
that Ibme kennels are healthier than others, and
confequently lefs liable to it. I apprehend mine
to be one of thofe; for in a dozen years I do not
believe that I have lofi: half that number of old
hounds, although I lofc lb great a number of
whelps at their walks. Neighbouring kennels
have not been equally fortunate : I have ob-
ferved, in fome of them, a diforder unknown in
mine; I mean a fwelHng in the fide, whieh fome-
times breaks, butfoon rfter forms again, and ge-
nerally proves fatal at lall. I once heard a friend
of mine fay, whofc kennel isfubje61 to this com-
plaint, that he never knew but one inftance of a
dog who recovered from it. I have, however,
lince known another, in a dog I had from him,
which I cured by frequently rubbing with a di-
geftive ointment : the tumour broke, and formed
again fevcral times, till at lafl it entirely difap-
pearcd. The diforder we have now been treat-
ing of has this, I think, in common with the
putrid fore throat, that it ufually attacks the
weakefl. Women are more apt to catch the fore
throat than men ; children, than women; and
young hounds more readily catch this diforder
than old. When it feizes whelps at their walks,
or young hounds, when lirft taken from them,
it is then moft dangerous. I alfo think that mad-
nefs, their inflammatory fever, is lefs frequent
than it was before this diforder was known.

I There

THOUGHTS UPON HUNTING. HI

There are few diforders which dogs are fo fub-
je6t to as the mange. Air and exercife, whol-
fome food, and cleanlinefs, are the beft prefer-
vatives againfl it. Your feeder fliould be parti-
cularly attentive to it, and when he perceives any
fpot upon them, let him rub it with the follow-
ing mirtture :

A pint of train oil,

Half a pint of oil of turpentine,

A quarter of a pound of ginger, in powder,

Half an ounce of gunpowder, finely powdered,

Mixed up cold.

If the diforder fliould be bad enough to reiifl:
that, three mild purging balls, one every other
day, fhould be given, and the dog laid up for a
little while afterwards. For the red mange, yoil
may ufe the following:

Four ounces of quickfilver,

Tvto ounces of Venice turpentine,

One pound of hog's lard.

The quicktilver and turpentine are to be rubbed
together, till the globules all difappear. When
you apply it, you mufl rub an ounce, once a
day, upon the part affedled, for three days fuc-
ceffively. This is tO be ufed when the hair
comes olF, or any rednefs appears.

How wonderful is the fatigue which a fox-
hound undergoes! Could you count the miles

he

tl2 THOUGHTS UPON HUNTING.

he runs, the number would appear almofl incre-
dible. This he undergoes cheerfully; and, per-
haps, three times a week, through a long fea-
fon: his health, therefore, well delervcs your
care; nor fhould you fufFer the leaft taint to in-
jure it. Huntfmen are frequently too negligent
in this point. I know one in particular, a fa-
mous one too, whofe kennel was never free
from the mange, and the fmell of brimflone was
oftentimes ftronger, I believe, in the nofes of
his hounds than the fcent of the fox. — If you
chufe to try a curious prefcription for the cure of
the mange, in the Phil. Tranf. No. 25, p. 45 1^,
you will find the following :

'^ Mr. Cox procured an old mungrel cur, all
" over mangy, of a middle lize, and having,
'' fome hours before, fed him plentifully with
" cheefe-parings and milk, he prepared his ju-
*' gular vein ; then he made a ftrong ligature on
" his neck, that the venal blood might be cmit-
^' ted with the greater impetus; after this, he
'^ took a young land fpaniel, about the fame
'' bignefs, and prepared his jugular vein like-
" wife, that the defcendent part might receive
" the mangy dog's blood, and the afccndent dif-
" charge his own into a difli; he transfufed
" about fourteen or lixtcen ounces of the blood
" of the mfeded into the veins of the found dog;
*' bv this experiment there appeared no alteration

" in

THOUGHTS UPON HUNTING.

Jlj

'^ in the found one^ but the mangy dog was^ in
" about ten days, or a fortnight's time, perfe6lly
*' cured ; and poffibly this is the quickefl and
" fureft remedy for that difeafe^ either in man
«' or beaft."

Hounds fometimes are bitten by vipers: fweet
oil has been long deemed a certain antidote;
fome fhouid be apphed to the part, and fome
taken inwardly. Though a friend of mine in-
forms me, that the common cheefe rennet, ex-
ternally applied, is a more efficacious remedy
than oil, for the bite of a viper. They are liable
to Wounds and cuts: Friar's balfam is very good,
if applied immediately; yet, as it is apt to fhut
up a bad wound too loon, the following tin(51:ure
in fuch cafes may, perhaps, be preferable; at
leaft, after the firfl dreffing or two —

Of Barbadoes aloes, two ounces,
Of myrrh, pounded, three ounces^
Mixed up with a quart of brandy.

The bottle fhouid be well corked, and put into"
a bark bed, or dunghill, for about ten days or a
fortnight. The tongue of the dog, in moft
cafes, is his bed furgeon; where he can apply
that, he will feldom need any other remedy. A
green, or feton, in the neck, is of greal, rehef in
moft diforders of the eyes ; and I have frequently
known dogs ahnoft blind, recovered by it. It is

114 THOUGHTS UPON HUTJTING.

alfo of fervice when dogs arc fhaken in the
Hioulders, and has made many fonnd.* -In the
latter cafe, there fhould be two, one applied on
each fide, and as near to the flioulder as it is
poffible. The following ointment may be uicd
to difperfe fwellings :

Of frefh mutton fdet, trlsd^ two pounds,

Of gum elemi, one pound,

Of common turpentine, ten ounces.

The gum is to be melted with the fuet, and,
when taken from the fire, the turpentine is to be
mixed with it, ftraining the mixture vvhilft it \^
hot. Dogs frequently are flubbed in the foot r
the tincture before-mentioned, and this, or any
digcflive ointment, will loon recover them.-j^ For
flralns, I ufe two- thirds of fpirits of wine, and
one of turpentine, mixed up together; the Bri-
tifh oil is alfo good : hounds, from blows, or
other accidents, are often lame in the flifle : ei-
ther of thefe, frequently applied, and long reil-,
are the likeliefl means that I know of to recover

* Turning a hound out of the kennel will fometimcs cure a
lamenefs in the fliouldero. An attentive huntfman will per-
ceive, from the manner of a hound's galloping, when this
lamenefs takes place; and the hound fl:ould be tunied out im-
mediately. Care fliould be taken that a hound, turned out,
do not become fat.

f An obfHnate Icrrenefs fometimes is increafed by humours,
Ph) fic, in Uiat cale, may be ntctflary to remove it.

them.

THOUGHTS UPON HUNTINGi

115

iliem. The following excellent remedy for a
flrain, with which I have cured myfelf, and many
Others, I have alfo found of benefit to dogs^
vvhcn flrained in the leg or foot.

DifTolve two ounces of camphire in half a pint
of fpirits of wine, and put to it a bullock's gall.
The part affeded mull be rubbed before the fire
three or four times a day.

Sore feet are foon cured with brlnPj pot-lIqUor,
or fiilt and vinegar, a handful of fait to a pint of
vinegar ; if iieither of thefe will do, mercurial
ointment may then be neceffary. A plafler of
black pitch is the befl cure for a thorn in either
man, horfe, or dog ; and I have known it fuc-
ceed afler every thing elfe had failed. If the
ipart be much inflamed, a common poultice bound
over the plafler will afTifl in the cure. Hounds
frequently are lame in the knee, fometimes from
bruifes, fometimes fi'om the flab of a thorn ;
digeftive ointment, rubbed in upon the part,
■will generally be of fervice.*

If hounds be much troubled with worms, the
following is the bell cure that 1 am acquainted
with :

* If the knee continue foul, bliflers and long refl afterwards
are the moll likely means to recover it.

la Of

Il6 THOUGHTS UPON HUNTllffd.

Of pewter, pulverized, i drachm lo grs.
Of i^thiops mineral, i6 grs.

This is to be taken three times; every other day,
once: the dog fhould be kept warm, and from
cold water. Whey, or pot-liquor, may be given
him two or three hours after, and fhould be
continued, infiead of meat, during the time he
is taking the medicine. The beft way of giving
it is to mix it up with butter, and then to make
it into balls with a little flour.

When a dog is rough in his coat, and fcratchcs
much, tv/o or three purging balls, and a little
reft afterwards, feldom fail to get him into order
again. To make dogs fine in their coats, you
fhould ufe the following dreffing:

One pound of native fulphur,
One quart of train oil,
One pint of oil of turpentine,.
Two pounds of foap.

My hounds are dreiTed with it two or three times
only, in a year: in fomc kennels, I am told
they drefs them once in two months. The more
frequently it is done, the cleaner, I fuppofe,
your hounds will look. Should you choofe to
drefs your puppies before they are put out to
their walks, the following receipt, which I re-
ceived from a friend of mine in StafFordfhire,

(the

THOUGHTS UPON HUNTING. II7

(the perfon already mentioned in this letter, an
•excellent tportfman, to whom I have many ob-
ligations) will anlwer the purpole beft, and on
their change of diet, from milk to meat, may be
fometimes neceflary :

Three quarters of cin ounce of quickfilver,
Half a pint of fpirits of tux-pentiae,
Four ounces of hog's lard,
One pound of folt foap,

Three ounces of common turpentine, in which the
quickfilver mud be killed.

Inflin6l direcSls dogs, when the llomach is out
of order, to be their own phylieian ; and it is
from their example that we owe cur knowledge
how to relieve it. It may appear foreign to our
prefent purpofe; yet as it is much (if true) to
the honour of animals in general, I mull beg
leave to add, what a French author tells us:—
that alfo by the hippopotamus, we are inftru6led
how to bleed, and by the crane, how to give a
clyfler. I have already declared my difapproba-
tion of bleeding hounds, unlefs they abfolutely
want it : when they refufe their food, from hav-
ing been over worked ; or when they have taken
a chill, to which they are very fubje^l, then the
lofs of a little blood may be of ule to recover
them. Sick hounds will recover Iboner, if fuf-
fered to run about the houfe, than if they be con-
fined in the kennel.

I 3 Mad-

Il8 THOUGHTS UPON HUNTING,

Madnefs, thou dreadful malady ; what Ihall i
fay to thee ! or what prefervative ihall I find
againfl thy envenomed fang ! Somervile, who
declines writing of lefTer ills, is not lilent on the
fubjecl of this :

" Of lefTer ills the mufe declines to fing,

Nor ftoops fo low ; of thefe each groom can tell

The proper remedy."

I wifh til is worthy gentleman, to whom we have
already been fo much obliged, had been lefs fpar-
ing of his inf!ru61ions ; fince it is poffible grooms
may have all the knowledge he fappofes them to
have, and their maflers may ftand in need of it.
No man, I believe, will complain of being too
well informed: nor is any knowledge unnecef-
fary which is likely to be put in practice. The
executive part is fully fufficient to truft in the
groom*s hands. Somervile's advice on the fub-
jedl of madnefs, is worthy your notice :

*' When Sirius reigns, and the fun's parching beams

Bake the dry gaping fuiface, vifit thou

Each ev'n and morn, with quick obfervant eye,

The panting pack. If in dark fullen mood,

The gloating hound refufe his wonted meal,

Retiring to fome clofe obfcure retreat,

Gloonry, difconfolate; with fpeed remove

The poor infectious wretch, and in ftrong chains

Bind iiim lufpeded. Thus ttiat dire difeafe

"Which art can't cure, wife caution may prevent."

Plenty

THOUGHTS UPON HUNTING, 1 19

Plenty of water, whey, greens, phyiic, air, and
cxercife, fuch as I have before mentioned, have
hitherto preferved my kennel from its baneful in-
fluence ; and, without doubt, you will alfo find
their good effects. If, notwithftanding, you
iliould at any time have rcatbn to fufpecSl the
approach of this evil, let your hounds be well ob-
ferved at the time when they feed ; there will be
no danger whilft they can cat. Should a whole
pack be in the fame predicament, they muft be
chained up feparately ; and I Ihould be very cau-
tious what experiment I tried to cure them ; for I
have been told by thofe who have had madnefs in
their kennels, and who have drenched their hounds
to cure it, that it was the occafion of its breaking
out a long time afterwards, and that it continued
to do fo, as long as they give them any thing to
put it off. — If a few dogs only have been bitten,
you had better hang them. — If you futpedl any,
you had better feparate them from the reft ; and
a fhort time, if you ufe no remedy, will deter-
mine whether they really were bitten or not.-—
Should you, however, be defirous of trying a
remedy, the following prefcription, I am told, is
a very good one :

Of Turbith's mineral eight gmrjSj
Ditto fixteen grains,
Pitto thirty-two grains.

I 4 This

140 THOUGHTS UPON HUNTING.

This is to be given for three mornings fuceer-
lively ; beginning the firft day with eight grains,
and increafing it according to the above direc^
tion. The dog fhould be empty when he takes
it, and Ihould have been bled the day before.
The dofe Ihould be given early in the morning,
and the dog may have fome thin broth, or pot'
liquor, about two or three o'clock^ but nothing
elfe during the time h ; takes the medicine ; he
fhould alfo be kept from water. The befh way
to give it is in butter, and mad° up into balls with
a little flour. Care muft be taken that he does
not throw it up again. After the laft day of the
medicine, he may be fed as ufual. Various are
the drenches and medicines which are given for
this diforder, and all faid to be infallible: this
Jafl, howqver, I prefer. The whole pack belong-
ing to a gentleman in my neighbourhood were
bitten ; and he aflures me, he never knew an in^.
ilance of a dog who went mad, that had taken
this medicine. — The caution, which I have re-
commended to you, I flatter myfelf will pre-
serve you from this dreadful malady ; a malady,
for which I krlow not how to recommend a re-
medy. Several years ago I had a game-keeper
mud}, bitten in the flefhy part of his thigh ; a
horfe, that was Ipitten at the fame time, died
raving mad ; the man was cured by Sir George
Cob's medicine.— I have heard that the Ormfkirk
icnedicine is alfo very good. I have given it to

fcveral

THOUGHTS UPON HUNTING. 121

feveral people in my neighbourhood^ and, I be-
lieve, with fuccefs ; at leaft, I have not, as yet,
heard any thing to the contrary — Though I men-
tion thefe as the two moft favourite remedies, I
yecommend neither. Somervile's advice, which I
have already given, is what I recommend to you- —
if properly attended to, it will prevent the want
of any remedy.

P. S. A Treatifc on canine madnefs, written
by Dr. James, is worth your reading. You will
find, that he prefcribes the fame remedy for the
cure of madnefs in dogs, as I have mentioned
here, but in different quantities. I have, how-
ever taken the liberty of recommending the quan-
tities above-mentioned, as they have been known
to fucceed in my neighbourhood, and as the ef-
^cacy of them has been very frequently proved.

LET-

tZZ THOUGHTS UPON HUNTINCf*

LETTER IX.

THE variety of queftions which you are
pleafed to afk concerning the huntfman, will,
perhaps, be better anfwered, when we are on the
fubje6t of hunting. In the mean time, I will en-
deavour to defcribe what a good huntfman fhould
be. He fhould be young, flrong, adive, bold
and enterprifing ; fond of the diverlion, and in-
defatigable in the purfuit of it ; he fliould be fen-
iible and good-tempered ; he ought alfo to be fo-
ber ; he ihould be exa^l, civil, and cleanly ; he
fhould be a good horfcman, and a good groom ;
his voice fhould be flrong and clear, and he
fhould have an eye fo quick, as to perceive which
of his hounds carries the fcent, when all are run-
ning ; and fhould have fo excellent an ear, as
always to diflingullh the foremoft hounds, when
he does not fee them. He fhould be quiet, pa-
tient, and without conceit. Such are the excel-
lencies which conflitute a good huntfman : he
fhould not, however, be too fond of difplaying
them, till neccfiity calls them forth. — He fhould
let his hounds alone, whilll they can hunt, and he
fhould have genius to ^K\^ them, when they
cannot.

With

XHGUGHTS rpOM HUNTING, I23

With regard to the whipper-in, as you keep two
©f them, (and no pack of fox-hounds is complete
without) the firft may be confidered ^s a fecond
huntfman, and Ihould have nearly the liime good
qualities. It is neceffary betides, that he fhould
be attentive and obedient to the huntfman ; and
as his horfe will probably have moft to do, the
lighter he is, the better; though if he be a good
horfeman, the objedlion of his weight v/ill be fuf-
^ciently overbalanced. — He mufl not be con-
ceited. 1 had one formerly, who, inflead of

flopping hounds as he ought, would try to kill a
fox by himfelf. — ^This fault is unpardonable ; —
he lliould always maintain to the huntfman's
halloo, and flop fuch hounds as divide from it.
When Hopped, he fhould get forward with thera
^ftcr the huntfman.

He mufl always be contented to a6l an tinder
part, except when circumftances may require that
he Ihould a6t otherwife;* and the moment they
ceafe, he muft not fail to refume his former fla-
tion. — You have heard me fay, that where there
^s much riot, I prefer an excellent whipper-in to
an excellent huntfman. — The opinion, I believe,
is new ; I muft therefore endeavour to explain it.

* When the huntfrnaa cannot be up with the hounds, the
whipper-in fliould ; in which cafe it is the bulinefs of the huntf-
pian to bring on the tail hounds along witl^him.

4 My

124 THOUGHTS UPON HUNTING.

My meaning is this : that I think I fhould have
better ("port, and kill more foxes with a moderate
huntfman, and an excellent whipper-in, ihan
with the beft of huntfmen without fuch an allift-
ant. You will fay, perhaps, that a good huntf-
man will make a good whipper-in; — uot fuch,
however, as I mean ; — his talent mnft be born
with him. My reafons are, that good hounds,
(and bad I would not keep) ofttner need the one
than the other j and genius, which in a whipper-
in, if attended by obedience, his firft requifite, can
do no hurt; in a huntfman, is a dangeror.s,
though a defirable quality ; and if not accom-
panied with a large fhare of prudence, and I may
lay humility, will oftentimes fpoil your fport, and
hurt your hounds. A gentleman told me that he
heard the famous Will Dean, when his hounds
were running hard in a line with Daventry, from
whence they were at that time many miles diflant,
fwear exceedingly at the whipj^er-in, faying,
^' What hujimfs have you hcreT'' the man was
amazed at the quefiion, " vchy dan^t you knoiv*
laid he, " aiid he d—d to you^ that the great earth
" at Daventry is open F' — -The man got forward,
and reached the earth jull time enough to fee the
fox go in. — If therefore whippers-in be left at
liberty to a6l as they fhall think right, they are
much lefs confined than the himtfman himfelf,
who muft follow his hounds j and, confequently

they

TftOUGHTS UPON fiUNTlNG. I25

they have greater fcope to exert their genius, if
they have any.

I had a difpute with an old fportfman, who
contended, that the whipper-in fhould always at-
tend the huntfman, to obey his orders ; (a ilable-
boy, then, would make as good a whipper-in as
the beil) but this is fo far from being tlie cafe,
that he fhould be always on the oppotite tide of
the cover from him, or I am much miflaken in
my opinion : if within hearing of his halloo, he
is near enough ; for that is the hunting fignai he
is to obey. — The ftation of the fecond whipper-in
may be near the huntlinan, for which reafon any
boy that can halloo, and make a whip fmack,
may anfwer the purpofe.

Your firft whipper-in being able to hunt the
hounds occafionally, will anfwer another gocd
purpofe ; — it w^ill keep your huntfman in order.
They are very apt to be impertinent when they
think you cannot do without them.

When you go from the kennel, the place of
the firil whipper-in is before the hounds ; that of
the fecond whipper-in fhould be fome diftance
behind them ; if not, I doubt if they will be fuf-
fered even to empty themfelves, let their necef*
lities be ever fo great ; for as foon as a boy is
made a whipper-in, he fancies he is to whip the

hounds

l26 THOUGHTS UPON HITNTING.

bounds whenever he can get at them, whether
they deferve it or not.

I have always thought a huntfman a happy
man ; his office is plealing, and at the fame time
flattering; we pay him tor that which diverts
him, and he is enriched by his greatell pleaiure ;*
nor is a General after a victory, more proud, than
is a huntfman who returns with his fox's head.

I have heard that a certain Duke who allowed
no vails to his fervants, afked his huntfman what
he generally made of his field-money, and gave
him what he aflced, inflead of it : this went on
Yery well for fome time, till at laft the huntfman
delired an audience. — *' Your Grace," faid he,
*' is very generous, and gives me more than ever
** I got from field-money in my life, yet I come
*' to beg a favour of your Grace — that you
** would let me take field money again; for I
** have not half the pleafure now in killing a fox,
*' that I had before/'

As you afk me my opinion of fcent, I think 1
had better give it you before we begin on the fub-
jecSl of hunting. I mufl, at the fame time, take
the liberty of telling you, that you have puzzled
me exceedingly ; for fcent is, I believe, what we

* The Jield-mone^ which is colleded at the death of a fox,

jljportfmera

THOUGHTS UPON HlTNTHsTG. IzJ

Iportfrnen know leaft about ; and, to ufe the
words of a great clallic writer;

Hocjum contentus, quod eflam ft quo quidqiie fiat
Ignorem, quid fiat intelhgo.'—C'ic. de d-iv.

Soniervile, who, as I have before obferved, is
the only one I know of, who has thrown any
light on the fubjeA of hunting, fays, I think,
but Httle about fcent ; I fend you his words ; I
ihall afterwards add a few of my own.

*' Should fome more curious fportfmen here inquire,^

"Whence this fagacity, this wond'rous power

Of tracing ftep by ftep, or man, or brute?

What guide invincible points out their way.

O'er the dark marlh, bleak hill, and tkndy plain ?

The courteous mufe fhall the dark caufe reveal.

The blood that from the heart inceflant rolls

In many a crinifon tide, then here, and there

In fmaller rills difparted, as it flows

Propell'd, the ferous particles evade.

Thro' th* open pores, and with the ambient air

Entangling mix, as fuming vapours rife,

And hang upon the gently purling brook,

There by the incumbent atmofphere comprefs'd

The panting chace grows warmer as he flies,

And thro' the net-work of the fkin perfpires ;

Leaves a long — fteaming— trail behind ; which by

The cooler air condens'd remains, unlefs

By fome rude florm difpers'd, or rarefy'd

By the meridian fun's intenfer heat,

To every (hrub the warm effluvia cling,

Hang on the grafs, impregnate earth and fkies.

Witii

J 25 THOUGHTS UF0If HtJNTIN^^

"With noftrils opening wide, o'er hill, o'er dale^
The vig'rous hounds purfue, with ev'ry breath
Inhale the grateful ll:eam, quick pleafures fting
Their tingling nerves, while their thanks repays
And in triumphant melody confefs
The titillating joy. Thus on the air
Depends the hunters hopes."

I cannot agree with Mr. Somervlle;, in think-'
ing that fcent depends on the air only ; it de-
pends alfo on the foil. Without doubt, the beft
fcent is that, which is occalioned by the effluvia,
as he calls it, or particles of fcent, which are con-
ilantly perfpiring from the game as it runs, and
are ftrongeft and moll favourable to the hound,
when kept by the gravity of the air, to the height
of his breaft ; for then, it neither is above his
reach, nor is it neceffary that he fhould floop for
it. At fuch times, fcent is faid to lie hreaji high.
Experience tells us, that difference of foil occa-
lions difference of fcent ; and on the richnefs and
moderate moiflure of the foil does it alfo depend
I think, as well on the air. At the time leaves
begin to fall, and before they are rotted, we know
that the fcent lies ill in cover. This alone would
be a fufficient proof, that fcent does not depend
on the air only. A ditfcrence of fcent is alio oc-
cafioned by difference of motion ; the fafler the
game goes, the lefs fcent it leaves. When game
has been ridden after, and hurried on by impru-
dent fportfmen, the fcent is kfs favourable to
I hounds 'f

TlidUGHTS UPON HUNTING. I5,0

hounds ; one reafon of which may be, that the
particles of fcent are then more diflipated. But
if the game fhould have been run by a dog not
belonging to the pack, fcldom will any fcent re-
main,

I believe it is very difficult to alccrtain what
fcent exadlly is ; I have known it alter very often
in the fame day. I believe, however, that it de-
pends chiefly on two things, '^ the condition the
'' ground is in, and- the temperature of the air;
both of which, I apprehend, Oiould be moiil",
vv'ithout being wet : when both are in this con-
dition, the fcent is then perfe6l ; and vice verfa,
when 'he groitnd is hard, and the air dry, there
feldom will be an^? (cent. — It fcarce ever lies v^^ith
a north, or an eail wind ; a foutherly wind wnth-
out rain, and a wefierly wind that is not rough,
are the mofi: favourable. — Storms in the air are
great enemies to fcent, and fcKlom fail to take it
entirely away. — ^A fine fun fhiny day is not often
a g'""© 1 hunting day ; but vHiat the French call^
jiur des dames^ warm without fun, is generally a
perfect one : there are not many fuch in a vv^hole
feafon. — ^In fome fogs, I have known the fcent lie
high ; in others, not at all ; depending, I believe,
on the qi;arter the wind is then in. — 1 havekinown
rt lie very high m a mrft, when not too wet ;
but if the wet fhould hang on the boughs and
bufhes, it will fail upon the fcent, and deaden it.-
K When'

130 THOtTGHTS UPON HUNTING.

When the dogs roll, the fcent, I have frequently
obferved, feldom lies ; for what reafon, I know
not; but, with permiffion, if they fmell ftrong,
when they firfl come out of the kennel, the pro-*
verb is in their favour ; and tliat fmell is a prog-
noflic of good luck. — When cobwebs hang on
the bufhes, there is feldom much fcent. — During
a white frofl the fcent lies high ; as it alfo does
when the froft is quite gone : at the time of its
going off, fcent never lies : it is a critical minute
for hounds, in which their game is frequently loft.
In a great dew the fcent is the fame. In heathy
countries, where the game bruflies as it goes
along, fcent feldom fails. Where the ground
carries, the fcent is bad for a very evident reafon^
which hare-hunters, who purfue their game over
greafy fallows, and through dirty roads, have
great caufe to complain of. A wet night fre-
quently produces good chaces, as then, the game
neither like to run the cover, nor the roads. — It
has been often remarked, that fcent lies beft in
the richeft foils ; and countries which are favour-
ble to horfes, are feldom fo to hounds. I have
alfo obferved that, in fome particular places, let
the temperature of the air be as it may, fcent never
lies.

Take not out your hounds on a very windy, or
bad day.

(' Thefe

i

THOUGHTS UPON HtJNTING. l^t

*' Thefe aiifpicious days, on other cares
Employ thy precious hours ; th' improving friend
With open arms embrace, and from his Hps
Glean fcience, feafon'd with good-natur'd wit;
But if th' inclement fkics, and angry Jove,
Forbid the pleafing intercourfe, thy books
Invite thy ready hand, each facred page
Rich with the wife remarks of heroes old."

The fcntiments of Mr. Somervile always do
him honour, but on no occafion, more than on
this.

In reading over my letter, I find I have ufed the
word fmell, in a fenfe that perhaps you will criti-
cize.— Al gentleman, who, I fuppofe, was not

the fweetefl in the world, fitting in the front
boxes at the play-houfe, on a crowded night, his

neighbour very familiarly told him, that he f}neU

Jirong : — " No, Sir," replied he, wiih infinite

good humour, — " it is you that J}:uil, 1 jimk»*

[The qualifications necefiary to make a good
huntfmaii, Mr.Beckford has dwelt upon with much
ingenuity in the former part of this letter, it is there-
fore hoped, that our preienting the readers of his
admired produ6lion, in this place, with a portrait
of one who is reputed to be the befl: in the kingdom^
will be deemed appropriate ; his name is Rich-
ard Fairbrother^ and hunts the pack belong-
K % ing

I3'3 THOUGHTS UPON IIUNTINGV

ing to Mr. Newman, of Navcftock, in EfTes: :— '
the horfc on which he is fcated, called Jolly
RoGER, is an old favourite, having carried
him through fome of the fevereft chaces ever
known.].

lET.

THOUGHTS UPON HUNTING. 133

LETTER X.

THOUGHT that I had been writing all this
time to a fox-hunter ; and hitherto my letters
liave had no other objecft. I now receive a let-
ter from you, full of queftions about hare-hunt-
ing ; to all of which you expe6l an anfwer. I
mufl tell you, at the fume time, that though I
kept harriers many years, it was not my inten-
tion, if you had not afkcd it, to have written on
the fubje6t. By inclination, I was never a hare-
hunter ; I followed this diveriion more for air and
exercife, than amufement ; and if I could have
perfuaded myfelf to ride on the turnpike road to
Vne three-mile flone, and back again, I fliould
have thought that I had had no need of a pack
of han'iers. — Excufe me, brother hare-hunters !
I mean not to offend ; I fpeak but relatively to
my own particular lituation in the country, where
hare-hunting is fo bad, that it is more extraor-
dinary I fliould have perfevered in it fo long, than
that I flioyld forfake it now. I refpecft hunting
in whatever fhape it appears ; it is a manly, and
a wholelbme exercife, and feems, by nature, de-
ligned to be the amufernent of a Briton.

You afk, how many hounds a pack of har-
riers fhould confift of ? and what kind of hound

K 3 is

234 THOUGHTS UPON HUNTING.

is beft fuitcd to that diverfion ? You fliould

never exceed twenty couple in the field ; it might
be difficult to get a greater number to run well
together, and a pack, of harriers cannot, be com-
plete if they do not:* befides, the fewer hounds
you have, the lefs you foil the ground, which you
otherwife would find a great hindrance to your

hunting. Your other queltion is not eafily

anfwered ; the hounds, I think, moft likely to
fhew you fport, are between the large flow hunt-
ing harrier; and the little fox beagle : the former
are too dull, too heavy, and too flow ; the latter,
too lively, too light, and too fleet. The firfl
Ipecies, it is true, have mofi excellent nofes, and
I make no doubt, will kill their game at laft, if
the day be long enough ; but, you know, the
days are fhort in winter, and it is bad hunting in
the dark. The other, on the contrary, fling and
dafh, and are all alive ; but every cold blaft af~
fe6ls them, and if your country be deep and wet,
it is not impoflible that fome of them may be
drowned. My hounds were a crofs of both thefe
kinds, in which it was my endeavour to get as
much bone and flrength, in as fma'.l a compafs
as pofiible.—— — It was a difficult undcitakiijg. — ■

* A hound that runs too hH for the reft, ought not tp be
kept. Some huntfmen load them with lieavy collars ; fome tie
a long ftrap round their necks ; a better way would be to part
with them. Whether they go tpoflow, or too faft, they ought
equally to be drafted*

1 bred

THOUGHTS UPON HUNTING. 13^

J bred many years, and an infinity of hounds,
before I could get what I wanted : I, at lafl, had
the pleafure to fee them very handfome ; fmall,
yet very bony ; they ran remarkably well toge-
ther ; ran fall enough ; had all the alacrity that
you could delire, and would hunt the coldeft
fcent. — When they were thus perfedl, I did, as
many others do — 1 parted with them.

It may be neceflary to unfay, now that I am
turned hare-hunter again, many things I have
been fayhig, as a fox-hunter; as I hardly know
any two things of the fame genus, (if I may be
allowed the exprelfion) that differ fo entirely.
What I faid in a former letter, about the huntf-
man and whipper-in, is in the number : as to the
huntfman, he fhould not be young : I fnould mofi:
certainly prefer one, as the French call it, d^un
certain age, as he is to be quiet and patient ; for
patience, he fhould be a very Grizzle ; and the
more quiet he is, the better. He fhould have
infinite perfeverance ; for a hare fhould never be
given up, whilfl it is poffible to hunt hc^ : Ihe is
fure to ftop, and therefore may always be re-
covered. Were it ufual ^to attend to the breed
of our huntfmen, as well as to that of our hounds^
I know no family that would furnifh a better
crofs than that of the ftJeyit geyiihrnaiiy mentioned
by the Spectator : a female of his line, crofTecJ

K 4 with

1^6 THOUGHTS UPON HUNTING.

with a knowing buntfrnanj would probably pro*
duce a perfect ha re -hunter.

The whipper-in aifo has little to do with him,
whom I before defcribed : yet lie may be like the
fecond whipper-in to a pack oF Ibx-hounds ; the
ilableboy who is to follow the hunlfman : but I
•would have him flill more confined^ for lie Ihoald
not dare even to flop a hound, or fmack a whip,
without the hniitfman's order. Much noife and
rattle is direclly contrary to tiie firft principles of
hare -hunting, which is, to be perfeiily quiet, and
to let your hounds alone. I have feen few
hounds fo good as town packs, that have no pro-
felTed huntlrnan to follow them. If they have
BO one to affift them, they have at the fame time,
no one to interrupt them ; which, I believe, for
ibis kind of hunting, is ft ill more material. I
flionld, however, meniion a fault I have obfervcd,
and Vv'hich luch liounds muil of neceffity fome-
times be guilty of; that is, running hack, the heel,
'Hounds are naturally fond of fccnt ; if they can-
not carry it forward, they v/ill turn, and hunt it
back again : hounds, that are left to themfelves,
make a fault of this ; and it is, I think, the only
cne they commonly have. — Though it be cer-
tainly befl to \c\. your hounds alone, and thereby
to give as much fcopc to their natural inftind, as
you cap ; yet, in this particular inftance, you
ihculd check it mildly ; for, as it is almofl an

invariable

THOUGHTS UPON HUNTING. I3J7

SHvarlable rule in all hunting, lo make the head
good, you fhould encourage them to try forward
firft ; which may be done without taking them.
off their nofes, or without the ieaft prejudice to
their hunting. If trying forward fliould not fuc-
ceed, they may then be fujEfcn^d to try back
again, which you will find them all ready enough
to do ; for they are fenfii)le how far they brought
the fccnt, and where they ]cft it. The love of
Icent is natural to them, and they have infinitely
jnore fagacity in it than we ought to pretend to —
I have no doubt, that they often think us very
pbltinate, and very fooliih.

Harriers, to be good, like all other hounds,
SMuft be kept to their own game : if you run fox
with them, you fpoil them : hounds cannot be
perfe6l unl^fs ufed to one fcent and one ftile of
hunting. Harriers run fox in fo different a flile
from hare, that it is of great differvice to thera
when they return to hare again ; it makes them
wild, and teaches them to iWrt. The high fcent
which a fox leaves, the ftraightneis of his run-
ning, the eagernels of the purluit, and the noife
that generally accompanies it, all contribute to
fpoil a harrier.

I hope you agree with me, that it is a fault in
a pack of harriers to go too fad ; for a hare is a
little timorous animal, which we cannot help

feelins:

138 THOUGHTS UPON HUNTING.

feeling fome compaffioii for, at the very time
when we are purfuing her deftruclion: we fhould
give fcope to all her little tricks, nor kill her
foully and over-matched.* Inftincl inflructs her
to make a good defence when not unfiiirly
treated ; and I will venture to fay, tliat, as far
as her own fafety is concerned, fhe has more
cunning than the fox, and makes many fliifts to
fave her life, far beyond all his artifice. With-
out doubt, you have ..often heard of hares, who,
from the miraculous efcapes they have made,
have been thought witches ; but, I believe, you
never heard of a fox that had cunning enough to
be thought a zvizard.

They who like to rife early have amufement
in feeing the hare trailed to her form ; it is of
great fervicc to hounds ; it alfo fhews their good-
nefs to the huntfman more-than any other hunting,
as it difeoversto him thofe who have the mofb ten-
der nofes. But, I eonfefs, I feldom judged it worth
while to leave my bed a moment Iboner on that

* The critic terms this *' a mode of deflru>5lion fomewhat
beyond brutal." (Vide Monthly Review.) I fhall not pretend
to juftify that conventional cruelty, which feems fo univerfally
to prevail — neither will I aili the gentleman, who is fo fevere
on me, why he feeds the Iamb, and afterwards cuts his throat;
I mean only to confidcr cruelty under the narrow limits which
concern hunting — if it may be defined to be, a pleafure which
refulLs from giving pain, then certainly a fportfman is much
lefs cruel than he is thought.

I account

THOUGHTS UPON HUNTING. I39

jaccount. I always thought hare-hunting fhould
be taken as a ride after brcakfail, to get us an
appetite to our dinner. If you make a ferious
bulinefs of it, you fpoil it. Hare-finders, in this
cafe, are necefiary : it is agreeable to know where
to go immediately for your diverfion, and not
beat about, for hours perhaps, before you find.
It is more material with regard to the fecond hare
than the firfl ; for if you are warmed with your
gallop, the waiting long in the cold afterwards
is, I believe, as unwholefome as it is difagreeable.
Whoever does not mind this, had better let his
hounds find their own game ; they will certainly
hunt it with more fpirit afterwards, and he will
have ^ pleafure himfelf in expe6lation which no
certainty can ever give. Hare-finders make hounds
idle ; they alfo make them wild. Mine knew
the men as well as I did myfelf, could fee them
as far, and would run, full cry, to meet them.
Hare-finders are of one great nfe ; they hinder
your hounds from chopping hares, which they,
otherwife, could not fail to do. I had in my
pack one hound in particular that was famous for
it ; he would challenge on a trail very late at
noon, and had a good knack at chopping a hare
afterwards; he was one that liked to go the
ihorteft v/ay to Vv^ork, nor did he choofe to take
more trouble than was necefiary. — Is it not won-
derful, that the trail of a hare fhould lie after fo

many

14-3 THCUGMTS UPON HUNTIXG.

niaoy hours, when the fceiit of her dies away {k
ihon ?

Hares are faid (I know not with what truth) to
forefce a change of -weather, and to feat them-
felves accordingly. This is liowever certain, that
they are feldom found in places mvich expoled to
the wind. In inclofures they more frequently
sre found near to a hedge than in the middle of a
iield. They who make a profeflion of nare-find-
mg (and a very advantageous one it is in fome
countries) are directed by the v.'ind where to look
for their game. With good eyes and nice obfer-
vation they are enabled to find them in any wea-
ther. You may make forms, and hares will lit
in them. I have heard it is a common pradlice
with fhepherds on the Wiltfliire downs ; and, by
making them on the fide of hills, they can tell
i2t a diltance ofiV whether there arc hares in them
or not. Without doubt people frequently do not
Snd hares, from not knowing thcra in their forms.
A gentleman, courling with his friends, was
ihevvn a hare that was found fitting — *^* Is that
"^ haref he cried, '^ then^ hy Jove, ! found twa
*' this rnormng as isjc rode ahng.'^

.Though the talent of hare-finding is certainly
©l-U'fe; and the money colleded for it, when
g"*ven to fne-pherds, is money well befiowed by
fportfinaOj as it tends to the prefervation of his

game

-^. ^r

THOUGHTS UPON HUNTING, 24 r

game, yet I think, when it is indifcrimlnately
given, that hare-fmders are often too well paid,
I have known them frequently get more than a
guinea for a lingle hare. I myfelf have paid five
jQiillings in a morning for hares found fitting".
To makre our companions pay dearly for their
diverfion, and oftentimes fo much more than it
is worth ; to take from the pockets of men who
oftentimes can ill affbrd it, as much as would pay
for a good dinner afterwards, is, in my opinion,
an ungenerous cufiom ; and this confideratioii
induced me to collect but once, with my hounds,-
for the hare-finders. The money was afterwards
divided amongft them, and if they had lefs than
liaif a crown each, I myfelf fupplied the defici-
ency.'— An old mifcr, who had paid his fhilling,.
complained bitterly of it afterwards, and faid^
*• he had been made to pay a Jliilllng far tivo penny -
^^ ivorth of /port. ''^

"When the o-ame is found you cannot be too
quiet : the hare is an animal fo very timorous,
that ihe is frequently headed back, and your dogs
are liable to over-run the fcent at every infiant ;
it is beft, therefore, to keep a confiderable way
behind them, that they may have room to turn
as foon as they perceive they have loft the fcent ;
and, if treated in this manner, they will feldom
over-run it much. Your hounds, throtigh the
whole chace, fhould be left almofi entirely to

them*

142. THOUGHTS UPON HUNTING.

themfelves, nor fhould they be hallooed much ?
tvhen the hare doubles, they fhould hunt through
thofe doubles ; nor is a hare hunted fairly when
hunted otherwife. They fhould follow her every
flep fhc takes, as well over greafy fallows as
through flocks of fheep ; nor fhould they ever be
caft, but when nothing can be done without it.
I know a gentleman, a pleafant fportfman, but
a very irregular hare-hunter, who does not ex-
a61:ly follow the method here laid down. As his
method is very extraordinary I will relate it to
you : — His hound? are large and Heet ; they have
at times hunted every thing ; red deer, fallow
deer, fox, and hare ; and muft in their nature
have been mofl excellent, iince, notwithftanding
the variety of their game, they are ftill good.
When a hare is found fitting, he leldom fails to
give his hounds a view; and as the men all halloo,
and make what noifc they can, flie is half fright-
ened to death immediately. This done, he then
fends his whipper-in to ride after her, with par-
ticular dirc6lions not to let her get out of his
fight ; and he has found out, that this is the only
proper ufe of a whipper-in. If they come to a
piece of fallow, or a flock of fheep, the hounds
are not fufiered to hunt any longer, but are cap-
ped and hallooed as near to the hare as poffiblc;
by this time the poor devil is near her end, which'
the next view generally finifhes ; the fi:rongeft
hare, in this manner, feldom fianding twenty

minutes ;

THOUGHTS UPON HUNTING. I43

minutes; but, my friend fays, a hare Is good
eating, and he therefore thinks, that he cannot
kill too many of them. By what Martial fays,
I fuppofe he was of the fame opinion,

" Inter quadrupedes gloria prima lepus."

A propos to eating them. — I muft tell you, that
in the Encyclopedic, a book of univerfal know-
ledge, where, of courfe, I expelled to iind fome-
thing on hunting, which might be of fervice to
you, as a fportfman, to know, I found the fol^
lowing advice about the dreffing of a hare, v/hich.
may be of ufe to your cook ; and the regard
I have for your health will not fuffer me to con-
ceal it from vou. — "• 0?i vianze le levraut roti dans
*' qicJques provinces du rojaume, en Gajcogne et en
*' Languedoc, par exemph^ avec unefance compofee
" de v'maigre et defucre, qui eft mauvaife, malfaine
*'^ en foi eJfentieJlement y mais qui ejtfurtoizt abomina-^
*' hie pour tons ceux qui riy font pas accoufumes.^*
You, without doubt, therefore, will think your-
felf obliged to the authors of the Encyclopedic
for their kind and friciidly information.

Having heard of a fmall pack of beagles to be
difpofed of in Derbyfliire, I fent rny coachman^
the perfon whom I could at that time beft Ipare,
to fetch them. It was a long journey, and not
having been ufed to hounds, he had fome trouble
in getting them along ; alfo, as ill-luck would

have

144 T:!0UGHT3 upon HirNTINC?^

have it, they had not been out of the kennel for
many weeks before, and were fo riotous, that
Ihey ran after every thing they faw ; fnecp, cur-
dogs, and birds of all forts, as well as hares and
deer, I found, had been his amufement, all the
way along: however, he loft but one hound;
and when I aiked him what he thought of them,
he faid — " they could not fail of being good
" hounds, for they would hunt arty thingJ"

In your nnfver to my lafi: letter, you aflc, cf
Tt'hat Service it can be to a huntfmain to be a good
groom? and, vHiether I think he will hunt hounds'
the belter for it ?— ^1 v/onder you did not afl^,
why he fliould be cleanly f—\ fhould be more at
a lols how to anfwer yon. My huntfman has
ghvays the cure of his own horfes; I never yet
tncw oiw. who did not think himfelf canable of
it; it is for that rcafon I vviih him to be a good
groonu

You fay, that you cannot fee how z. huntfman
of genius can fpoil your fport, or hurt your hounds ?
. — 1 will tell you how : — by too much foul play
he frequently will catch a fos before he is half
tired ; > and by lifting his hounds too much, he'
will teach them to ihuffle. — An improper ufe of
the one may ijooil your fport ; too frequent ufe
of the otncr. muft hurt your hounds.

L E T-

THOUGHTS Ut'ON HUNTING. i4j

LETTER Xi.

T HAVE already obferved, that a trail in the
morning is of great fervice to hounds; andj
that to be perfe6l, they fhould always find their
own game : for the method of hare-finding,
though more convenient, will occafion fome
vices in them which it will be impofiible to cor-
reft.

Mr. Somervile's authority ftrengthens my ob«
fervation; that, when a hare is found, all Ihould
be quiet : nor fliould you ride near your hounds.,
till they are well fettled to the fcent.

-let all be hufh'd,

No clamour loud, no frantic joy be heard;
Left the wild hound run gadding o'er the plain
Untra(5lable, nor hear thy chiding voice."

The natural eagernefs of the hounds will, at
fuch a time, frequently carry even the beil of
them wide of the fcent; which too much en-
couragement, or preffing too clofe upon them,
may continue beyond all poffibility of recovery:
this fhould be always guarded againft. After a
little while, you have lefs to fear. You may
ihen approach them nearer, and encourage them

L roore;

14" THOUGHTS UPON HUNTING,

more: leaving, however, at all times, fufficient
room for them to turn, fhould they over-run the
ibent. On high roads and dry paths bc^ always
doubtful of the fcent, nor give them much en-
couragement ; but when a hit is made on either
iide, you may halloo as much as you pleafe; nor
can you then encourage your hounds too much.
A hare generally defcribes a circle as fhe runs;
larger or lefs, according to her ilrength, and the
opennefs of the country. In inclofures, and
where there is much cover, the circle is for the
moil part fo fmall that it is a conftant puzzle to
the hounds. They have a Gordian knot, in
that cafe, ever to unloofe; and though it may
aiford matter of fpeculation to the philofopher,
it is always contrary to the wifhes of the fportf-
man. Such was the country I hunted in for
many years.

" Huntfman ! her gait obferve : if in wide rings
She wheels her mazy way, in t!ie fame round
Perfifting flill, llie'll foil the beaten track.
Em if file fiy, and with the fav'ring wind
Urge her bold courfe, lefs intricate thy tafk :
Fufh on^hy pack."

SoMERVIte.

Belides running the foil, they frequently make
doubles, which is going forward, to tread the
(lime Heps back again, on purpofe to confufc
their purfuers: and the fame manner in which
they make the firil double, they generally conti-
nue.

THOUGHTS UPON HUNTING. I47

iiue, whether long or fhort. This information,
therefore, if properly attended to by the huntf-
man, may be of me to him in his cafts.

When they make their double on a high road^,
or dry path, and then leave it with a fpring, it is
often the occafion of a long fault; the fpring
which a hare makes on thefe occafions is hardly
to be credited, any more than is her ingenuity
in making it; both are wonderful!

*' '■ let cavillers deny

That bi*utes have reafon ; fure 'tis fomething more:
*Tis Heaven direfts and ftratagems iiifpire,
Beyond the fhort extent of human thought."

SOMERVILE.

She frequently, after running a path a coniider-
able way, will make a double, and then flop till
the hounds have paft her; fhe will then fteal
away as fecretly as Ihe can, and return the fame
way fhe came. This is the greateft of all trials
for hounds. It is fo hot a foil, that in the beft
packs there are not many hounds that can hunt
it ; you muH follow thofe hounds that can, and
try to hit her off where Ihe breaks her foil, which
in all probability flie will foon do, as fhe now
flatters herfelf fhe is fecure. When the fcent
lies bad in covef, fhe will fometimes feem to
hunt the hounds.

La ** — Th«

148 THOUGHTS UPON HUNTING,

The covert's utmoft bound

Slily fhe ftirts; behind them cautious creeps,

And in that very track, fo lately ftain'd

By all the fleaming crowd, feenis to purfue

The foe file flies." — Somervile,

When the hounds are at a check, make your
huntfman ftand i\i\\, nor lliffer him to move his
horfe one way or the other: hounds lean natu-
rally toward the Icent, and if you fay not a word
to them, will foon recover it. If you Ipeak io
a hound at fuch a thne, calling him by his name,
which is too much the pra6lice, he feldom fails
to look up in your face, as much as to fay, whaf
the deuce do yoii ivatit? — when he (loops to the
fcent again, is it not probable that he means to
fay. You fool, you, let me alone.

When your hounds are at faulty let not a
word be faid : let fuch as follow them ignorantly
and unworthily ftand all aloof — Proculy 0 pro ml
ejie prof am! for whilft fuch are chattering, not a
hound will hunt. A ■propos, Sir, a politician
will fay — What news from America .' A pro-
mos— Do you think both the admirals will be
tried ? Or, propos — Did you hear what has
happened to my grandmother? Such qucflions
are, at fuch a time, extremely troublcfomc, and
very mal-a-proj)os. Amongft the ancients, it was
reckoned an III omen to fpeak in hunting — I with
jt were thought io now. Hoc age fliould be one

of

THOUGHTS UPON HUNTING. 149

o£ the firfl: maxims in hunting, as in life; and I
can afTure you, when I ain in the field, I never
wifh to hear any other tongue than that of a
hound. A neiglibour of mine was fo truly a
hare-hunter in this particular, that he would
not fufFer any body to fpeak a word when his
hounds were at fault : a gentleman happened to
cough; he rode up to him immediately, and faid,
*^ / ivij/i, Sir, zi'i/h all 7ny heart, that your cough
*' was better^''

In a good day, good hounds feldom give up
the fcent at head ; if they do, there is generally
an obvious reafon for it : this obfervation a huntf-
man fhould always make ; it will dire6l his call.
If he be a good one, he will attend, as he goes,
not only to his hounds, nicely obferving which
have the lead, and the degree of feent they carry;
but alio to the various cireumHances that are con-
tinually happening from change of weather, and
diiference of ground. He will likewife be mind-
ful of the diftance which the hare keeps before
ihe hounds, and of her former doubles; he will
alio remark what point fhe makes to. All thefe
obfervations will be of ufe, if a long fault make
his affiftance necelTary ; and if the hare fhould
have headed back, he will carefully obferve whe-
ther fhe met with any thing in her courfe to turn
her, or turned of her own accord. When he
cafts his hounds, let him begin by making a fmall
L 3 circle;

150 THOUGHTS UPON HUNTING.

circle; if that will not do, then let him try S
larger; he afterwards may be at liberty to perfe-
vere in any caft he Ihall judge moft likely. x\s
a hare generally revilits her old haunts, and re-
turns to the place where fhe was firft found, if
the fcent be quite gone, and the hounds can no
longer hunt ; that is as likely a cafl as any to re-
cover her. Let him remember, in all his cafts,
that the hounds are not to follow his horfe's heels,
nor are they to carry their heads high, and nofes
in the air. At thefe times they muft try for the
fcent, or they will never find it; and he is either
to make his call: quick or flow, as he perceives
his hounds try, and as the fcent is either good or .
bad.

Give particular direc^lions to your huntfman to
prevent his hounds, as much as he can, from
chopping hares. Huntfmen like to get blood at
any rate; and when hounds are ufed to it, it
would furprize you to fee how attentive they are
to find opportunities. A hare muft be very wild,
or very nimble, to efcape them. I remember, in
a furzy country, that my hounds chopped three
hares in one morning; for it is the nature of
thofe animals either to leap up before the hounds
come near them, and ^eal away, as it is called,
or elfe to lie clofe, till they put their very nofes
upon them. Hedges, alfo, are very dangerous ;
if the huntfman beat the hedge himfelf, which

is

^^

THOUGHTS UPON HUNTING. 15?^

is the ufual pra6licej the hounds are always upon
the watch, and a hare mull have good luck to
cfcape them all. The bcft way to prevent it, is
to have the hedge well beaten at fome diftancc
before the hounds.

Hares feldom run fo well as when they do not
know where they are. They run well in a fog,
and. generally take a good country. If they fet
off down the wind, they feldom return: you
then cannot pufh on your hounds too much.
When the game is linking, you ' will perceive
your old hoands get forward ; they then will run
at head.

*' Happy the man, v^'ho with unrivall'd fpeed
Can pafs his fellows, and with pleafure view
The flruggling pack; how in the rapid courfe
Alternate they prefidc, and joftling pufh
To guide the dubious fcent; how giddy youth
Oft babbling errs, by wifer age reprov'd;
How, niggard of his ftrength, the wife old hound
Hangs in the rear, till fome important point
Roufe all his diligence, or till the chace
Sinking he finds ; then to the head he fprings,
With thirft of glory fir'd, and wins the prize."

SoMERVILi;.

ICeep no babblers; for though the pack foon
find them out, and mind them not, yet it is un-
pleafant to hear their noife ; nor are fuch fit com-
panions for the reft,

L 4 Though

152 THOUGHTS UPON HUNTING,

Though the Spe6lator makes us laugh at the
oddity of his friend, Sir Roger, for returning, a
hound, which he faid was an excellent hafs^ be-
caufe he wanted a counter-tenor ; yet 1 am of opi-
nion, that if we attended more to the variety of
notes frequently to be met with in the tongues of
hounds, it might greatly add to the harmony of
the pack. I do not know that a complete con*
cert could be attained, but it would be eafy to
prevent difcordant founds.

Keep no hound that runsfalfe: the lofs of one
hare is more than fuch a dog is worth.

It is but reafonable to give your hounds a hare
fometimes: I always gave mine the lall they
Jcilled, if I thought they deferved her.

It is too much the cuflom, firfl: to ride over a,
dog, and then cry, ware horfe. Take care not
to ride over your hounds ; I have known many a
jgood dog fpoiled by it : in open ground caution
them firllj you priay afterwards ride oyer them,
if you pleafe; but in roads and paths they fre-
quently cannot get out of your way ; it furely,
then, is your butinefs either to flop your horfe
or break a way for them, and the not doing it,
give me leave to fay, is not lefs abfurd than cruel;
nor can that man be called a good fportfman who
thus wantonly deflroys his^ own fport. Indeed;,

THOUGHTS UPON HUNTING, Tj^^

good rportfmen feldom ride on the line of the tail
hounds.

An acquaintance of mine, when h« hears any
of his fcrvants fay, ivare horfe ! halloos out —
ware horfe [-^-ware dog! and be hanged to you.

You afk how my warren hares arc caught ?— -
it Ihall he the fubje<5L of my next letter.

LET-

l^^v THOUGHTS UPON HUNTING*

LETTER XIL

XT'OU wifh to know how my warren hares are
-*- caught ? they are caught in traps, not un-
like to the common rat-traps. I leave mine al-
ways at the meufes, but they are fet only when
hares arc wanted: the hares, by thus conftantly
going through them, have no miftruft, and are
caiily caught. Thefe traps Ihould be made of
old wood, and even then it will be fometime be-
fore thcv will venture throufrh them. Other
meufes muft be alfo left open, left a diftafte
fhould make them forfake the place. To my
warren I have about twenty of thefe traps ;
though, as the ftock of hares is great, I feldom
have occafion to fet more than five or lix, and
fcarcely ever fail of catching as many hares. The
warren is pakd in, but 1 found it neceflary to
make the meufes of brick ; that is, where the
traps are placed. Should you at any time with
to make a hare-warren, it will be neceflary for
you to fee one firft, and examine the traps,
boxes, and ftoppers, to all which there are par-
ticularities not eafy to be defcribed. Should you
perceive the hares, towards the end of the fea-
fon, to become fhy of the traps, from having

been

tHOUGHTS UPON HUNTING, t^^

heen often caught, it will be iiecefTary to drive
them in with fpaniels. Should this be the cafe^,
you will find them very thick round the warren;
for the warren-hares will be unwilling to leave
it, and when diflurbed by dogs will immediately
go in.

If you turn them out before greyhounds, you
cannot give them too much law ; if before
hounds, you cannot give them too little; for rea-
fons which 1 will prefently add. Though hares,
as I told you before, never run fo well before
hounds as when they do not know where they
are, yet, before greyhounds, it is the reverfe;
and 3^oijr trap- hares, to run well, fhould always
be turned out within their knowledge : they are
naturally timid, and are eafily diflieartenedj wheii
they have no point to make to for fafety.

If you turn out any before your houndsj
(which, if it be not your wifh, I fhall by no
means recommend) give them not much time,
but lay on your hounds as foon as they are out
of view ; if you do not, they will be likely to
flop, which is oftentimes fatal. Views are at all
times to be avoided, but particularly with trap-
hares; for, as thefe know not where they are,
the hounds have too great an advantage over
them. It is beft to turn them down the wind;
.Ihey hear the hounds better, and feldom turn
J again.

156 THOUGHTS UPON HUNTING.

again. Hounds, for this buHncfs, lliould not be
too fleet. Thefe hares run flruight, and make
no doubles ; tbey leave a llrong fccnt, and have
other objections in common with animals turned
out before hounds: they may give you a gallop,
they will, hovv^evcr, Ihew but little hunting. —
The hounds are to be hunted like a pack of fox-
hounds, as a trap -hare runs very much in the
fame manner, and \vi]\ even top the hedges.
What I fnould prefer to catching the hares in
traps, would be, a warren in the midit of an
o|)en country, which micrht be flopped clofe on
hunting-days. This would fupply the wliolc
country with hares, which, after one turn round
the warren, would mofl probably run ftraight at
end. The number of hares which a warren will
fupply is hardly to be conceived ; I fcldom turned
out lefs in one year than thirty brace of trap-
hares, befides many otliers killed in the envi-
rons, of vv'hich no account was taken. My war--
ren is a wood of near thirty acres ; one of half
the lizc would anfwer the purpofc perhaps as
well. Mine is cut out into many walks; a
fmaller warren fhould have only one, and tJmf
round the outfide of it. No dog fliould ever be
fuffered to go into it, and traps fliould be con-
llantly fet for floats and polecats. It is faid par-
fiey makes hares ftrong ; they certainly are very
fond of eating it : it therefore cannot be amifs to

fow

THOUGHTS UPON HUNTING. 15*?

fow fome about the warren, as it may be the
means of keeping your hares more at home.

I had once fome converfation with a gentleman
about the running of my trap- hares, who faid he
had been told that catching a hare, and tying a
pece of r'lhhon to her ear, was a fure way to make
her run Jira'it.—\ make no doubt of it— -and fo
would a canijler tyed to her tail.

I am forry you fhould think T began my firit
letter on the fubjecl of hare-hunting in a manner
that might offend any of my brother fportfmen.
It was not hare-hunting I meant to depreciate, but
the country I had hunted hare in. — It is good di-
verfion in a good country : — you are always cer-
tain of fport ; and if you really love to fee your
hounds hunt ; the hare, when properly hunted,
will fhew you more of it, than any other animal.

You afk me, what is the right time to leave off
hare-hunting r — You fhould be guided in that
by the feafon : you fnould never hunt after
March ; and, if the feafon be forward, you fhould
leave off fooner.

Having now fo confiderably exceeded tlie plan
I firft propofed, you may wonder, if I omit to fay
anything oi Jlag-huntwg, Believe me, if I do,
it will not be for want of refpecl ; but becaufe I

have

t$^ THbrCHTS UPdN* HUNTING.

have feen very little of it. It is true, I hunted
two winters at Turin ; but their hunting, you
knowj is no more like our's, than is the liot meal
we there Hood up to, eat, to the Englifli breakfaft
we lit down to here. — 'Were I to defcribe their
manner of hunting, their infinity of dogs, their
number of huntfmen, their relays of horfes,
their great faddlcs, great bitts, and jack boots, it
would be no more to our prefent purpofe, than the
defcription of a wild boar chafe in Germany, or
the hunting of jackalls in Bengal. Ce/l tine
chajfe magnifiquc^ et volla tout. — However, to give
you an idea of their huntfmen, I muft tell you
that one day the flag, which is very unufual,
broke cover and left the forefi: ; a circumflance,
which gave as much pleafure to me, as difplcafure
to all the reft — it put every thing into confuiion.
I followed one of the huntfmen, thinking he knew
the country befl, but it was not long before we
were feparated ; the firfl ditch we came to flopped
him : I, eager to go on, hallooed out to him,
allofzs, Piqueur, fautez donc.—^^ Non pardi,^' re-
plied he, very coolly, " cejl un double fojje—je ne

''^faiite pas des doubles fojps. There was alfoan

odd accident the fame day, which, has it hap-
pened to a great man, even to the Kin^ himfelf,
you may think interefting ; befides, it was the oc-
cahon of a bon mot worth your hearing. — The
King, eager in the purfuit, rode into a bog, and
was difmounted — he was not hurt — he was foon

on

THOUGHTS UPON HUNTING. I59

on his legs, and we were all flanding round him.
One of his old generals, who was at fome diflance,
behind, no Iboner faw the king off his horfe, but
he rode up full gallop to know the caufe, *' Qiieji
" ce que ceji ? queji cs que ceji f cries the good
old general, and in he tumbles into the fame bog.
Count Kevenhuller, with great humour replied,
pointing to the place, '' iwlla ce que ceji ! vcila ce
" que c^ejiy

With regard to the fl:a;2;-huntin2; in this coun-
try, as I have already told you, that I know but
little of it ; but you will, without doubt, think it
a fufficient rcafon for my being lilent concern-
ing it.

LET-

l60 THOUGHTS UPON HUNTING*

LETTER XIII.

IT'N feme of the preceding letters we have, J
-^ think, fettled the bufinefs of the kennel in all
its parts ; and determined what fhould be the
number, and what the qualifications of the at-
tendants on the hounds ; we alfo agree in opinion,
that a pack fhould confifl: of about twenty-five
couple; I fliall now proceed to give fome ac-
count of the ufe of them. You defire that I
would be as particular, as if you were to hunt
the hounds yourfelf : to obey you, therefore, I
think I had better fend you a defcription of an
imaginary chace, in which I fliall be at liberty to
defcribe fuch events as probably may happen,
and to which your prefcnt inquiries feem moil to
lead; a further and more circumflantial expla-
nation of them will necefJarily become the fub-
je6l of my future letters. I am, at the fame time,
well aware of the difficulties attending fuch an
undertaking. A fox-cliace is not eafy to be de-
fcribed — yet as even a faint defcription of it may
ferve, to a certain degree, as an anfwcr to the
various queftions which you are pleafed to make
concerning that diverfion, I fhall profecute my
attempt in fach a manner, as I think may fuit
your purpofe befl. — As I fear it may read ill, it

ihall

THOUGHTS UPON HUNTING.' l6r

{hall not be long. A gentleman, to whofe un-
derftanding nature had mofl evidently been fpar-
ing of her gifts, as often as he took up a book, and
met with a pafTage which he could not compre-
hend, was ufed to write in the margin op-
poiite viatiere embrouiUee, and gave himfelf no
further concern about it. As different caufes
liave been known to produce the fame efFedls,
IhouldjvoM treat me in like manner, I Ihall think
it the fevereft cenfure that can be palTed upon me.
Our friend Somervile, I apprehend, was no great
fox-hunter ; yet all he fays on the fubjedl of hunt-
ing is fo fonlible and juit, that I fhall turn to his
account of fox-hunting, and quote it where I can.
The hour moll favourable to the diverlion, is
certainly an early one ; nor do I think I can fix
it better than to fay, the hounds fhould be at the
cover at fun-rifing. Let us fuppofe that we are
arrived at the cover fide.

Delightful fcene '

Where all around is gay, men, horfes, dogs ;
And in eacii fmihng countenance appears
Frelli blooming health, and univerfal joy."

Somervile.

Now let your huntfman throw in his hounds
as quietly as he can, and let the two whippers-in
keep wide of him on either fide, fo that a lingle
hound may not efcape them ; let them be atten-
tive to his halloo, and be ready to encourage, or

M rate,

l6z THOUGHTS UPON HUNTING.

rate, as that directs ; he will, of courfe, draw up
the wind, for rcafons which I iliall give in another
place. — Now, if you can keep your brother
Iportfmen in order, and put any difcretion into
them, you are in luck ; they more frequently do
harm than good : if it be poffible, perfuade thofe
who wilh to halloo the fox off, to ftand quiet un-
der the cover fide, and on no account to halloo
him too foon ; if they do, he moll certainly will
turn back again : could you entice them all into
the cover, your fport, in all probability, would
not be the v^^orfc for it.

How well the hounds fpread the cover ! the
huntfman, you fee, is quite deferted, and his
horfe, who fo lately had a crowd at his heels, has
not now one attendant left. How ileadily they
draw ! you hear not a fingle hound ; yet none are
idle. Is not this better than to be fubjeft to con-
tinual difappointment, from the eternal babbling
of unlleady hounds ?

— — See ! how th.ey range

Difpers'd, how bufily this way and that,
They crofs, examining with curious nofe
Each likely haunt. Hark ! on the drag I hear
Their doubtful notes, preluding to a cry
More nobly full, and fwell'd with every mouth."

SoMERVlLK*

How

tHOUGHTS UPON HUNTING, j6j

tto\Y muiical their tongues ! — And as they get
nearer to him, how the chorus fills ! — Hark ! he
is found. — Now, where are all your forrows^ and
your cares, ye gloomy fouls ! Or where your pains,
and aches, ye complaining ones ! one halloo has
difpelled them all. — What a crafh they make !
and echo feemingly takes pleafure to repeat
the found. The aftonifiied traveller forfakes his
road, lured by its melody ; the liltening plowman
how flops his plow ; and every diflant Ihepherd
iiegledls his flock, and runs to fee him break.-«-
)»\^hat joy ! what eagernefs in every face 1

** How happy art thou, man, when thou'rt no more
Thyfelf ! when all the pangs that grind thy foul,
In rapture and in fweet oblivion loil,
Yield a fhort interval, and eafe from pain !"

SoMERVILEi

Mark how he runs the cover's utmoft: limits^
yet dares not venture forth ; the hounds are ftill
too near ! — That check is lucky ! — now, if our
friends head him not, he will foon be ofi— hark I
they halloo : by G — d he's gone !

■ Hark 1 what loud fhotlts

Re-echo thro' the groves ! he breaks away :
Shrill horns proclaim his flight. Each ftraggling houftcj
Strains o'er the lawn to reach tlie diftant pack,
'Tis triumph all, and joy,'*

SoMEHVlL&i

M % Na^

164 THOUGHTS UPON HUNTING,

Now huntfinan get on with the head hounds ; the
whipper-in will bring on the others after you :
keep an attentive e^'e on the leading hounds, that
fhould the fcent fail them, you may know at leaft
how far they brought it.

Mnid Galloper, Iiow he leads them ! — It is dif-
ficult to difiinguifh which is firftv they run in.
fuch a ftile ; yet he is the foremoft hound. — The
goodnefs of his nofe is not lefs excellent than his
ipeed : — how he carries the fcent ! and when ho
lofes it, fee how eagerly he flings to recover it
again ! — There — now lie's at head again ! — fee

how they top the hedge I Now, how they

mount the hill! Obfcive what a head they

carry, and fliew me, if thou canfl, one fhuffler or
fkirter amongft them all : arc they not like a par-
cel of brave fellows, who, when they engage in an
undertaking, determine to ihare its fatigue and its
dangers, equally aniongfl: them }

Far o'er the rockv hills we ranee.

And dangero\is our courfe ; but in the brave
True courage never fails. In vain the ftream
In foaming eddies whirls, in vain the ditch
Wide gaping threatens death. The crriggy fteep.
Where the poor dizzy ihepherd crawls with care,
And clings to every twig, gives us no pain;
But down we fweep, as floops the falcon bold
To pounce his prey. Then up the opponent hill,
By the fwift motion flung, we mount aloft :
So fhips in winter feas now Aiding fink

AdowjF

THOUGHTS UtON HUNTING. \C^

Adown the fteepy wave, then tofs'd on high

Ride on the billows, and defy the florm." Son.

It was then tlie fox I fawj as we came down the
hill ; — thofe crows direcited me which way to
look, and the flicep ran from him as he paft
along. The hounds are now on the very fpot,
yet the fheep flop them not, for they dafh beyond
them. Now fee with what eagernefs they crols
the plain ! — Galloper no longer keeps his place,
Brujlier takes it — fee how he flings for the fcent,
and how impetuoufly he runs I — How eagerly he
took the lead, and how he ftrivcs to keep it — yet
Vi6lor comes up apace. — He reaches him ! — See

what an excellent race it is between them ! It

is doubtful which will reach the cover firil. —
How equally they run ! — how eagerly they flrain !

now Vi61:or — Vidor ! Ah ! Bruflier, you are

beaten ; Victor iirft tops the hedge. — See there !
fee how they all take it in their ftrokes ! the .
hedge cracks with their weight, lb many jump at
once.

Now haftes the whipper-in to the other iide of
the cover ; he is right unlefs he head the fox.

" Heav'ns ! what melodious ftrains ! how beat our hearts

Big with tumultuous joy ! the loaded gales

Breathe harmony ; and as the tempeft drives

From wood to wood, thro' ev'ry dark recefs

The foreft thunders, and the mountains fliake," Som.

M 3 Liflen !

'l6$ THOUGHTS UPON HUNTING,

Liflen !— the hounds have turned. They arc now
in two parts : the fox has been headed back, and
we have changed at lall.

Now, my lad, mind the huntfman's halloo, and
flop to thofe hounds which he encourages. He
is right ! — that, doubtlefs, is the hunted fox ; — *
Kow they are off again.

*' What lengths we pafs ! where will the wand'ring chace
Lead us bewilder'd ! fmooth as fwallows (kim
The new-fliorn mead, and far more fwift we fly.
See my brave pack ; how to the head they prefs,
Jullling in clofe array, then more difFufe
Obliquely wheel, while from their op'ning mouths
The voUied thunder breaks.

•- Look back and view

The flrange confurion of the vale below.
Where fore vexation reigns ;

-Old age laments

His vigour fpent; the tall, plump, brawny youth *^

Curfes his cumbrous bulk? and envies now

The fliort pygmean race, he whilom kenn'd

With proud infulting leer. A chofen few

Alone the fport enjoy, nor dz'oop beneath

Their pleafing toils." Som.

Ha ! a check. — Now for a moment's pa«
ticnce ! — We prefs too clofe upon the hounds .'— «
Huntfman, ftand flill ! as they want you not. —
How admirably they fpread ! how wide they cafl !
Is there a fmgle hound that does not try? if there
bCj ne'er ftall he hunt again. Thercj Trueman

is

THOUGHTS UPON HUNTING. 167

is on the fcent — he feathers, yet ftill is doubtful
— 'tis right! how readily they join him! Seethofe
wide-cafting hounds, how they fly forward to re-
cover the ground they have lofl ! — Mind Light"
?iing, how the dafhes ; and Mimgo, how he works 1
Old Franlic, too, now puflies forward; Ihe knows,
&s well as we, the fox is linking.

*' r— Ha ! yet he flies, nor yields

To black defpair. But one loofe more, and all
His wiles are vain. Hark ! thro' yon village now
The rattling clamour rings. The barns, the cots,
And leaflefs elms return the joyous founds.
Thro' ev'ry homeftall, and thro' ev'ry yard.
His midnight walks, panting, forlorn, he flies.

SoM.

Huntfman ! at fault at laft ? How far did you
bring the fcent ?— Have the hounds made their
own call } — Now make your's. You fee that
fheep-dog has courfed the fox; — get forward with
your hounds, and make a wide caft.

Hark ! that halloo is indeed a lucky one. — If
we can hold him on, we may yet recover him ;
for a fox, fo much difirefled, mail flop at laft.
We fhall now fee if they will hunt as well as
run ; for there is but little fcent, and the impend-
ing cloud ftill makes that little, lefs. How they
enjoy the fcent ! — ^fee how bufy they aU are, and
haw each in his turn prevails \

M 4. Huntf-

1^8 THOUQHTS UPON HUNTING.

Huntfman ! be quiet ! Whilil the fccnt was
good, you prefs'd on your hounds ; it was weU
done: when they came to a check, you flood ftill,
and interrupted them not : they were afterwards
at fault ; you made your call with judgment, and
lo/l: no time. You now mufl let them hunt ; —
with fuch a cold fcent as this you can do no goc^d;
they muft do it all themfelves ; — lift them now,
and not a hound will ftoop again. — Ha ! a high
road, at fuch a time as this, when the tenderefl-
nofed hound can hardly own the fcent ! — Another
fault ! That man at work, then, has headed back
the fox. Huntfman ! cafl not your hounds now,
you fee they have over-run the fccnt ; have a
little patience, and let them, for once, try back.

We now mufl give them time : — fee where
they bend towards yonder furze brake — I wifh he
may have flopped there ! — Mind that old hound,
how he dafhes o'er the furze ; I think he winds
him. — Now for a frefh entapis ! Hark ! they
halloo ! — Aye, there he goes,

Jt is nearly over with him ; had the hounds
caught view, he mufl have died. — He will ijardly
reach the cover; fee how they gain upon him at
every flroke !— It is an admirable race ! yet the
coyer faves him.

Now

s 1

Thoughts upon huntihg. 169

Now be quiet, and he cannot cfcape us ; we
have the wind of the hounds, and cannot be
better placed : — how Ihort he runs ! — he is now
in the very Itrongeft part of the cover. — What a
crafli ! every hound is in, and every hound is
running for him. That was a quick turn ! —
Again another ! — he's put to his laft iliifts. —
Now Mi/chief is at his heels, and death is not far
off. — Ha ! they all ftop at once ; — all lilent, and
yet no earth is open. Liflen ! — now they are at
him again! — Did you hear that hound catch
him ? they over-ran the fcent, and the fox had
laid down behind them. Now, Reynard, look to
yourfelf ! — How quick they all give their tongues !
— Little Dreadnought, how he works hira ! the
terriers too, they are now fqueaking at him. —
How clofe Vengeance purfues ! how terribly fhc
prefies ! — it is jufi: up with him ! — Gods ! wha:t a
crafh they make ; the whole wood refounds ! —
That turn was very fhort ! — There ! — now !—
aye, now they have him ! Who-hoop !

LET.

170 THOUGHTS UPON HUNTING^

LETTER XIV

FOX-HUNTING, however lively and anU
mating it may be in the field, is but a dull,
dry fubjecl to write upon ; and I can now affure
you, from experience, that it is much lefs diffi-
cult to follow a fox-chace than to defcribe one.
You will ealily imagine, that to give enough of
variety to a lingle a61ion, to make it intereiling,
and to defcribe in a few minutes, the events of,
perhaps, as many hours ; though it pretend to no
merit, has at leaft fome difficulty and trouble ; and
you will as ealily conclude tliat I am glad they
are over.

You dcfire me to explain that part of my lafl
letter, which fays, if ive can hold him on, ive may
nozv recover hhn. — It means, if we have fcent to
follow on the line of him, it is probable he will
ilop, and Vvc may hunt up to him again. You
alfo obje(?t to my faying catch a fox ; you call it
a bad expreffion, and fay, that it is not fporlly ; I
believe I have not often ufed it; and when I have,
it has been to dillinguifh betwixt the hunting a
fox down, as you do a hare, and the killing of
him with Iiard running. — You tell me, I fhould

always.

THOUGHTS UPON HUNTING, Ijl

always kill a fox. I might anfwer — I mufl. catc/i
him firft.

You fay, that I have not enlivened my chace
with many halloos : it is true, 1 have not; and
what is worfe, I fear I am never likely to meet
your approbation in that particular; for fhould
we hunt together, then, I make no doubt, you
will think that I halloo too much ; a fault which
every one is guihy of who reaFy loves this ani-
mating fport, and is eager in the purfuit of it.
BeHeve me, I never could halloo in my life, un-
lefs after hounds ; and the writmg a halloo ap-
pears to me almoft as difficult as to pen a wJi'if^er.

Your friend A , you fay, is very fevere on

us fox-hunters ; — no one is more welcome. How-
ever, even he might have known, that the pro-
feflion of fox-hunting is much altered ilnce the
time of Sir John Vanburgh ; and the intempe-
rance, clowniihnefs, and ignorance of the old
fox-hunter, are quite worn out: a much truer
definition of one might now be made than that
which he has left. Fox-hunting is now become
the amufement of gentlemeii ; nor need any gen-
tleman be afhamed of it.

I fhall now begin to anfwer your various quef-
tions as they prelent themfelves. Though I was
glad of this expedient, to methodife, in fome de-
gree.

,17a THOUGHTS UPON HUNTING.

gree, the variety we have to treat of, yet I was
well aware of the impoffibility of fufficiently ex-
plaining myfelf in the midfl of a fox-chace,
whofe rapidity, you know very well, brooks no
delay ; now is the time, therefore, to make good
that deficiency : what afterwards remains on the
fubje6t of hunting will ferve as a fupplement to
the reft ; in which I fhall iiill have it in my
power to introduce whatever may be now forgot-
ten, or, give a further explanation of fuch parts
as may feem io you to require it : for lince my
principal view in writing theie letters is to make
the intlru6lion they contain of fome ufe to you,
if you fhould want it ; if not, to others ; the
being as clear and explicit as I can, will be
far beyond all other conli derations. Repeti-
tions, we know, are fhocking things ; yet, in
writing fo many letters on the fame fubJecTt, I fear
it will be difficult to avoid them.

Firft, then, as to the early hour recommended
in ray former letter : — I agree with you, it re-
quires explanation ; but you will pleafe to con-
lider, that you dcfired me to fix the hour moft
favourable to the fport, and without doubt it is
an early one.* You fay, that I do not go out fo
early myfelf : — it is true, I do not ; do phylicians

* An early hour is only neceflary, where you are not Hkely
to find without a drag.

alwavs

THOUGHTS UPON HUNTING. 1 73

always follow their own prefcrlptions ? Is it not
fuffieient that their prefcriptions be good ? How-
ever, if my hounds fhould be out of blood, I go
out early, for then it becomes neceffary to give
them every advantage. At an early hour, you
are fcldom long before you find. The morning
is the part of the day which generally affords the
beft fccnt ; and the animal himfelf, which, in
fuch a cafe, you are more than CYer delirous of
killing, is then leaft able to run away from you.
The want of reft, and perhaps a full belly, give
hounds a great advantage over him. I expert,
my friend, that you will reply to this, " that a
"fox-hunter, then, is not th fair fportfrnan^ —
He certainly is not ; and what is more, would be
very forry to be miftaken for one. He is otherwife
from principle. In his opinion, a fair fportfman,
and a foolifh fportfman, are fynonimous; he,
therefore, takes every advantage of the fox he
can. You will think, perhaps, that he may
fometimes fpoil his own fport by this ? It is true,
he fometimes does, but then he makes his hounds;
the whole art of fox-hunting being to keep the
hounds well in blood. Sport is but a fecondary
coniidcration with a fox-hunter ; the firft is, tlie
Vill'mg ijf the fox: hence arifes the eagernefs of
purfuit, chief pleafure of the chace : — I confefs,
I efleem blood fo necefiary to a pack of fox-
hounds, that with regard to myfelf, I always re-
turn liome better pleafed with but an indifferent
J chace.

174 tiJOUGKTS XTPOH HtTNTUfC?^

chace, with death at the end of it, than with the;
bell chace poffible, if it end with the lofs of the
fox. Good chaces, generally fpeaking, are long
chaces ; and, if not attended with furcefs, never
fail to do more harm to hounds than good. Our
pleafurcs, I believe, for the mofi part, are greater
during the expectation than the enjoyment : in
this cafe, reality itfelf warrants the idea» and your
prefcnt fuccefs is almoU a fure fore-runner of fu-
ture fport.

I remember to have heard an odd anecdote of

the late Duke of R , who was very popular

in his neighbourhood. — A butcher, at Lyndhurfl,
a lover of the fport, as often as he heard the
hounds return from hunting came out to meet
them, and never failed to aflc the Duke what
fport he had ? " Very good, I thank you, honefl
friend." — " Has your grace killed a fox ?" — "JVb.-
<« —We have had a good run, but we have not
*' killed." — '''-FJIiawT cried the butcher, looking
archly, and pointing at him with his finger. — >
This vv'as fo conftantly repeated, that the Duke,-
when he had not killed a fox, was ufed to fay, h&
was afraid to meet the hutclier.

You aflc, why the huntfman is to draw io

quietly ; and, why up the wind ? With regard io

his drawing quietly, that may depend on the

kind of cover before him ; and alfo on the feafon

3 of

t-HOUGHTS UPON HlTNt-ING. tj.^'

of tlie year. If your covers be fmal!^ or fucli
from which a fox cannot break unfeen, then
noife can do no hurt ; if you draw at a late hour,
and when there is no drag, then the more the
cover is diilurbed the better; the more likely you
are to find. Late in the feafon foxes are wild,
particularly in covers that are often hunted. If
you do not draw quietly, he will ibmetimes get
too much the itart of you t when you have any
fufpicion of this, fend on a whipper-in to the
oppofite fide of the cover before you throw in
your hounds. With regard to the drawing up
the wind, that is much more material. You never
fail to give the wind to a pointer and fetter ; why
not to a hound ? — Befides, the fox, if you dravf
up the wind, does not hear you coming ; and
your hounds, by this means, are never out o(
your hearing; befides, fhould he turn down the
wind, as mofl probably he will, it lets them all in,
Suppofe yourfelf a6ling dire6fly contrary to this^
and then fee what is likely to be the confequence.

You think I am too fevere on ray brother
fportfmen : if more fo than they deferve, I am
forry for it. I know many gentlemen who are
excellent fportfmen, yet, I am forry to fay, the-
greater number of thofe who ride after hounds
are not ; and it is thofe only whom I allude to..
Few gentlemen will take any pains, (ew of them,
will ftop a hound, though he fhould run riot-.

clofc

17^ THOUGHTS UPON HUNTING*

clofe bciidc them, or will itand quiet a momen^^
though it be to halloo a fox : it is true, they will
not fail to halloo if he fliould come in their way,
and they will do the fame to as many foxes as
they fee. Some will encourage hounds which
they do not know ; it is a great fault : were every
gentleman who follows hounds to fancy himfelf a
huntlman, what noife, what confufion would cn-
fue! I conlider many of them as gentlemen riding
out, and I am never fo well pleated as when I
lee them ride home again. You may perhaps
have thought, that I v/iflied (hem all to be huntf-
men — mofl certainly not ; but the more alfifiants
a huntfman has, the better, in all probability,
his hounds will be. Good fenfc, and a little ob-
fervation, will foon prevent fucli people from
doing amifs; and I hold it as an almoll invariable
rule in hunting, that thofe who do not know hov/
to do good are always liable to do harm :* there is
fcarce an iniiant, during a whole chace, when a
jportfman ought not to be in one particular place:

* This is a better reafon, perhaps, why gentlemen ought to
underfland this diveriion, than ror the good they may do in it ;
fince a pack of- hounds that are well manned will feldom need
any other alliftance. A gentleman, perceiving his hounds to
be much confuled by the frequent halloos of a ftranger, rodr
up to him, and thanked him with great civility for the trouble
he was taking: but at the fame time acquainted him, that the
two men he faw in green coats were paid fo much by the year,
on purpofe to halloo, it woilld be neediefs for him, therefore, to
give himfelf zi\y further trouble.

and.

THOUGHTS UPON HUNTING. I77

and, I will venture to fay, that if he be not there^
he might as well be in his bed.

I mull give you an extraordhiary inftance of a
gentleman's knowledge of hunting.— He had hired
a houfe in a fiiie hunting country, with a good
kennel belonging to it, in the neighbourhood of
two packs of hounds, of which mine was one ;
and that he might not offend the owner of either,
intendedj as he faid, to hunt with both. He of-
fered me the ufe of his kennel, which, for fome
reafons, I chofe to decline ; it was afterwards of-
fered to the other gentleman, who accepted it.
The firil day that the hounds hunted this country
he did not appear. The fecond day, the hounds
were no fooner at the cover fide than my friend
faw an odd figure, Itrangely accoutred, riding
up, v/ith a fpaniel following him. " Sir," faid
he, " it gave me great concern not to be able to
" attend you when you was here before ; I hope
*' you was not offended at it ; for, to fhew you
" how v/ell I am inclined to afiift your hunt^
" you fee, / have brought my little dog.^*

I will now give you an infi:ance of another
gentleman's love of hunting. We were returning
from hunting over a very fine country, and upon
its being remarked that we had a pleafant ride, he
replied, " the beft part of Xhafport, in my opi-
*- nion, is the riding home to dinner afterwards."

N He

♦ H

7b THOtGHTS trPON HUNTING.

He Is, without doubt, of tlie fame opinion with
a fat old gentleman I one day overtook upon the
road, who, after having alked n:ie, " how many
" tbx«s we ufually killed in one day — why I did
" not hunt hare rather than fox, as the was bet-
" ter to eat ?" — he concluded, faying, " there is
" but one part of hunting I likcs-*-iV 7nakes one
" very hungry T

There are two things, which I particularly re-
commend to you; the one is, to make your hounds
ileady, the other, to make them all draw. Many
huntfmen are fond of having them at their horfes
heels ; but, believe rne, they never can get fo
well, or fo foon together, as when they fpread
the cover : betides, 1 have often known, when
there have been only a few finders, that they
have found their fox, gone down the wind, and
been heard of no more that day.

Never take out an unfleady old hound ; young
ones properly awed from riot, and that will hop
at a rate, may be put into the pack, a few at a
time ; but an old hound that is vicious fliould
not efcape hanging ; let him be ever fo good in
other refpe6ls I will not excuie him ; for a pack
mufl be wretched indeed that can Hand in need
of fuch affiftance.

There

tHOUGHTS UPON HUNTING. I79

There is infinite pleafure in hearing a fox well
found. When you get up to his kennel, with a
good drag, the chorus increafing as you go, it
intpires a joy more eafy to be felt than defcribed.
With regard to my own fenfations, I would ra-
ther hear one fox found in this lively manner, than
ride the befl hare-chace that ever was run.

Much depends on the firfl finding of your fox,
Dhnidium facfi, qui hene ccepit, hahet, which we
learned at Weflminfter, is verified here; for I
look upon a fox well found to be half killed. I
think people generally are in too great a hurry on
this occafion. There is an enthufiafm attending
this diverfion, which, in this infiance in particu-
lar, ought always to be rellrained.* The hounds
are always mad enough when they find tlieirfox;
if the men be alfo mad, they make mad work of
it indeed. A gentleman of my acquaintance, who
hunts his own hounds, and is not lefs eager than
the reft of us, yet very well knows the bad con-
fequences of being fo, to prevent this fault in
himfelf, always begins by taking a pinch of fnuff,
he then fings part of an old fong, " Some fay that
" care killed the cat^^ &c. By this time his hounds
get together, and fettle to the fcent. He then hal-
loos, and rides as if the d — 1 drove.

* There are but few inftances where fportfmen are not too
noify, and too fond of encouraging their hounds, which fel-
<iom do their bufmefs fo well as when little is faid to them.

N 2 If

l80 THOUGHTS UPON HUNTINC.

If the fox break cover, vou will fometlmes
fee a young fportfman ride after him. He never
fails to afk fuch a one, " Do you think you can
" catch him, Sirr—'' Nor—'' Why then be fo
" good as to let my hounds try — if they can^

[The fubje6l which has been chofen as a frontif-
piece to the prefent edition of this work, being in
fome degree analogous to mofl parts of Letter xiv.
it may not be improper in this place to notice the
circumflance which occafioncd it.

A pack of hounds belonging to his Grace of
Beaufort, after a purfuit of many miles, fcented
Reynard to a cottage at Castle Coombe, where he
had taken refuge in a cradle ; little time, how-
ever, was given him in this retreat, as they almoft
inflantly entered the hovel, feized upon their de-
voted vi61im, and dragged him from his lurking
place.]

LET-

Thoughts upon hunting, iZl

LETTER XV

T LEFT off juft as I had found the fox : I
-*- now, therefore^ with your leave, will fup-
pofe, that the hounds are running him. You
deiire I would he more particular with regard to
the men ; it was always my intention. To be-
gin, then^ the huntfman ought certainly to let oft'
with his foremoft hounds, and I Ihould with him
to keep as clofe to them afterwards as he conve-
niently can ; nor can any harm arife from it, un-
lefs he fhould not have common fenfc. No
hounds then can flip down the wind, and get out
of his hearing; he will alfo fee how far they
carry the fcent ; a neceffary rcquifite; for with-
out it, he never can make a cafl with any cer^
tainty.

You will find it not Icfs neceffary for your
huntfman to be a6live in prefFmg his hounds for-
ward,* while the fcent is good, than to be pru-

* Prefling hounds on, is, perhaps, a dangerous expreffion;
as more harm may be done by prelTing them beyond the fcent,
when it is good, than when it is bad : however, it means no
more than to get forward the tail-hounds, and to encourage the
Others to pufli on as fafl as they can, while the fcent ferv.es
them.

N 3 dent

l84 THOUGHTS UPON HUNTING

dent In not hurrying them beyond It, when It
is bad. Your's, you fay, is a good horfeman ;
it is of the utmoft confequence to your fport;
nor is it poffible for a huntfman to be of much
ufe, who is not ; for the firft thing, and the very
fine qua nan of a fox-hunter is to ride up to his
headmoft hounds. It is his bufinefs to be ready,
at all times, to lend them that afliftance they fo
frequently need, and which, when they are firft
at a fault, is then moft critical. A fox-hound,
at that time, will exert himfelf moft; he after-
wards cools, and becomes more indifferent about
his game. Tliofc huntfmen who do not get for-
ward enough to take advantage of this eager-
nefs and impetuofity, and dire6l it properly, fel-
dom know enough of hunting to be of much ufe
to them afterwards.

You will, perhaps, find It more difficult to
keep your whipper-in back, than to gd your
huntfman forward ; at Icaft, I always have found
it fo.* It is, however, ncceffary; nor will a
good whipper-in leave a cover whilft a tingle
hound remains in it : for tliis reafon, there ihould

* Thoiigh a huntfman cannot be too fond of hunting, a
whipper-in eafily may. His bufinefs will feldom allow him to
be forward enough with the hounds to fee much of the fport s
his only thought, therefore, fliould be to keep the hounds to-'
gether, and to contribute, as much as he can, to the killing of
the fox,

be

THOUGHTS UPOM HUNTING. 1 83

"be two; one of whom fliould always be forward
with the huntfman. You cannot conceive the
many ills that may happen to hounds that are
left behind. I do not know that I can enume-
rate one half of them ; but of this you may be
certain, that the keeping them together is the
fareft means to keep them ftcady. When left to
themfelves, they fcldom refufe any blood they can
get; they acquire many bad habits; they become
conceited, a terrible fault in any animal ; and
they learn to lye upon the fcent, an unpardona-
ble fault in a fox-hound : betides this, they fre-
quently get a trick of hunting by themfelves, and
they feldom are worth much afterwards. The
lying out in the cold, perhaps the whole night,
can do no good to their contlitutions, nor v/ill
the being worried by fhecp-dogs or maftiifs be of
fervice to their bodies : all this, however, and
much more, they are liable to. T believe I
mentioned, in my fourth letter, that the ilraw-
houfe door liiould be left open when any hounds
are miffing.

Every country is foon known, and nine foxes
out of ten, with the wind in the fam-e quarter,
wdll follow the fume track. It is eafy, therefore,
for the whipper-in to cut fhort, and catch the
hounds again; at lea ft it is fo in the country
where I hunt. With a high fcent you cannot
pufh on hounds too much. Screams keep the
N 4 fox

184 THOUGHTS UPON HUNTING,

fox forward, at the fame time that they keep the
hounds together, or let in the tail-hounds ;* they
alfo enUven the fport, and if difcreetly ufed, are
always of fervice; but, in cover, they fliould he
given with tlie greateft caution.

Moll: fox-hunters wilh to fee their hounds run
in a good fiyle ; I confefs, 1 am myfelf one of
thofe. I hate to fee a firing of them, nor can
I bear to fee them creep, where they can leap.
It is the dafli of the fox-hound which diftin-
guiflies hm as truly, as the motto of William of
Wickham diilinguifhes zis. A pack of harriers,
if they have time, may kill a fox ; but I defy
them to kill him in the llyle in which a fox
ought to be killed; they mufl hunt him down.
If you intend to tire him out, you mufl expert
to be tired alfo yourfelf : I never wifh a chace to
be lefs than one hour, or to. exceed two: it is fuf-
ficiently long, if properly followed; it will fel-
dom be longer, unlefs there be a fault fome-
where — either in tlie day, in the huntfman, or
in the hounds. What Lord Chatham once faid

* Halloos feldom do any hurt, when yon are running up
the wind; for then, none but the tail-hounds can hear you;
when you are running down the wind, you fliouId halloo no
more than may be necefTary to bring the tail-hounds forward,
for a hound that knows his bufinefs feldom wants encourage-
ment when he is upon a fcent.

9<

THOUGHTS UPON HUNTING. 1 85

•of a battle, is particularly applicable to a fox-
phace: it fhould hQ JJiort, fnarp, and dec'ijive.

There is, I believe, but little difference in tlis
ipeed of hounds of the fame lizc ; the great dif-
ference is in the head they carry ; and in order
that they may run well together, you fhould not
keep too many old hounds : after five or iix fea-
ions, they generally do more harm than good.
If they tie upon the fcent, and come hunting
after, hang them up immediately, let their age
be what it may; there is no getting fuch conceited
devils on ; they will never come to a halloo,
which every hound that is off the fcent, or be-
liind the refl, fhould not fail to do ; and they
are always more likely to draw you back than
help you forward.*

You think me too fevere on fl^irters. I mufl
confefs, that I have but one objection to them,

* From thi5 paffage, the critic endeavours to prove the
fportfman's ingratitude; and yet common {.tnie^ I believe, in-
duces moft men to rid themfelves of that which if kept would
be prejudicial to them. The critic feems to allude to a well-
known fable of ^fop, but is not very happy in the applica-
tion. He has alfo mif-quoted the paffage — the author does not
^y tirsf but {yf upon the fcent. Good hounds, when they be-
come aged, are liable to the firft ; bad ones only are gu'lty of
the laft. In either cafe, death is not meant as a puniuimentj
nor is it confidered as a misfortune.— Vide Monthly Review.

and

l86 THOUGHTS UPON HUNTING.

and it is this: I have conflantly feen them do
more harm than good.

Changing from the hi^nted fox to a frefh one,
is as had an accident as can happen to a pack
of fox- hounds, and requires all the obfervation
and all the ingenuity that man is capable of to
guard againfl it. Could a fox-hound diltinguilh
a hunted fox, as the deer-hound does the deer
that is blown, fox-hunting would then be perfe(5l.
There are certain rules that ought to be obferved
by huntfmcn. A huntfman fliould always liftcn
to his hounds, whilft they are running in cover;
he fhould be particularly attentive to the head-
mofl hounds, and he fhould be conftantly on his
guard againfl: a Ikirter, for if there be two fcents,
he mult be wrong. Generally fpeaking, the befl
fcent is leaft likely to be that of the Imnted fox ;
and as a fox feldom fuffers hounds to run up to
him as long as he is able to prevent it, fo, nine
times out of ten, when foxes arc hallooed early
in the day, they are all frefli foxes. The hounds
moft likely to be right are the hard-running line-
hunting hounds, or fuch as the huntfman knows
had the lead, before there arofe any doubt of
changing. Witfi regard to the fox, if he break
over an open country, it is no i\gvi that he is
hard run ; for they feldom at any time will do
that, unlefs they be a great way before the
hounds. Alio, if he run up the wind — they fel-

4 dom

THOUGHTS UPON HUNTING. 187

dom ever do that when they have been long
hunted, and grow weak ; and when they run.
their foil, that alfo may dire6l him. All this, as
you will perceive, requires a good ear and nice
obfervation ; and indeed, in that confills the
chief excellence of a huntfman.

When the hounds divide, and are in two
parts, the whipper-in, in flopping, mull attend
to the huntfman, and wait for his halloo, before
he attempts to flop either : for want of proper
management in this particular, I have known
the hounds Hopped at both places, and both
foxes loll by it. If they have many fcents, and
it is quite uncertain which is the hunted fox, let
him flop thofe that are farthcft down the wind,
as they can hear the others, and will' reach them
fooneft : in fuch a cafe, there will be little ufe iu
Hopping thofe that are up the wind.

When hounds are at a check, let every one be
lilent, and ftand flill: but as I have already faid
fo much on that head in my eleventh letter on
hare-hunting, I beg leave to refer you to it.
Whippers-in are frequently at this time coming
on with the tail-hounds. They fhould never
halloo to them, when the hounds are at fault;
the leall thing does hurt at fuch a time, but a
halloo more than any other. The huntfinan, at
g, check, had better let his hounds alone, or con-
tent

fSS THOUGHTS UPON HUNTING, ,

tent himfelf with holding them forward, with-*
out taking them off their nofes. Hounds that
are not ufed to be call, a tout lout de chamj) will
of themfelves acquire a better caft than it is in
the power of any huntfman to give them; will
ipread more, and try belter for the fcent; and,
if in health and IpiritS;, will v/ant no encourage-
inent.

Should they be at fault, after having made
their own caft, (which the huntfman fhould al-
ways firft encourage them to do) it is then his
bulinefs to affift them further; but, except ir\
fomc particular inftances, I never approve of
their being caft as long as they are inclined to
hunt. The ftrft caft I bid my huntfman make Is
generally a regular one; not choofing to rely en-
tirely on his judgment: if that fnould not fuc^
ceed, he is then at liberty to follow his own opi-
nion, and proceed as obfervation and genius may
dirccl. When fuch a caft is made, I like to fee
fomc mark of good fcnfc and meaning in it ;
whether down the wind, or towards fome likely
cover, or ftrong earth : however, as it is at heft
•uncertain, and as the huntfman and the fox may
be of different opinions, I always wifh to fee a
regular caft, before i lee a knowing one; which,
as a laft refource, fhould not be called forth, till
it be wanted: the letting hounds alone is bat a,
negative goodnefs in a huntfman ; whereas, it is

true.

THOl^GHTS UPON HUNTING. l8^

true, this laft fnows real genius ; and to be per-
fect:, it mult be born with him. There is a
fault, however, which a knowing huntfman is
too apt to commit : he will find a frefh fox, and
then claim the merit of having recovered the
hunted one. It always is dangerous to throw
hounds into a cover to retrieve a loft fcent ; and,
unlefs they hit him in, is not to be depended on.
Driven to the laft extremity, fhould a knowing
cafl not fucceed, your huntfman is in no wife
blameable: mine, I remember, lofl me a good
chace, by perfevering too long in a favourite calt;
but he gave me fo many good reafons why the
fox ought to have gone that way, that I returned
perfectly well fatisfied, telling him, at the fame
time, that, if the fox ivas a fool, he could not
help It,

Gentlemen, when hounds are at fault, are too
apt thenifelves to prolong it. They fhould aK
^ays ilop their horfes fome diftance behind the
hounds, and, if it be poflible to remain fJent,
this is the time to be fo: they fliould be careful
not to ride before the hounds, or over the fcent ;
nor fhould they ever meet a hound in the face,
unlefs with a deilgn to flop him. Should you at
any time be before the hounds, turn your horfe's
head the way they are going, get out of their
track, and let them pafs ])y you.

In

i^O THOUGHTS UPON HUNTING.

In dry weather, foxes, particularly In heatliy
countries, will run the roads. If gentlemen, at
fuch times, will ride clofe upon the hounds, they
may drive them miles, without any fcent. *
High-mettled fox-hounds are feldom inclined to
Hop whillt horfes are clofe at their heels.

An acquaintance of mine, a good fportfman^
but a very warm one, when he fees the company
preffing too clofe upon his hounds, begins with
crying out, as loud as he can, /lohi hard. If
any one fhould perfifl after that, he begins mo-
derately at firft, and fays, jf heg. Sir, you will
Jlop your hor/e : — Pray, Sir, Jlop : — God hlefs you^
Sir, Jlop ; — God d — n your blood, Sir, Jlop your
hofje.

I am now, as you may perceive, in a very vio-
lent paffion; fo I will e'en Hop the continuation
of this fubje(St till I be cool again.

* No one fhould ever ride in a direftion which, if perfifted
in, would carry him amongfl. the hounds, unlefs he be at a
great diftance behind thenu

LET-

THOUGHTS UPOK HUNTING, igt

LETTER XVI.

T ENDED my lafl letter, I think, in a riolent
■*■ paffion. The hounds, I behcve, were at
fault alio. I fhall now continue the further ex-
planation of my thirteenth letter from that time.

The iirll moment that hounds are at fault is a
critical one for the fport : people then fhould be
very attentive. Thofe who look forward perhaps
may fee the fox, or the running of fheep, or the
purfuit of crows, may give them fome tidings of
him. Thofe who liflen may fomctimes take a
hint which way he is gone, from the chattering of
a magpie; or, perhaps, be at a certainty, from a
diilant halloo : nothing that can give any intelli-
gence, at fuch a time, is to be negletled. Gen - ^
tlemen are too apt to ride all together: were they
to ij^read more, they might fometimes be of fer-
vice; particularly thofe who, from a knowledge
of the fport, keep down the wind: it would then
be difficult for either hounds, or fox, to efcape
their obfervation.

You fliould, however, be cautious how you
go to a halloo. The halloo itfelf mufl, in a
great meafure, dire6l you ; and though it aiTord

no

i^2 THOUGHTS UPON HUNTING*

Do certain rule, yet yoa may frequently gaefs hf
it whether it may be depended on or not. At
the fowing time, when boys are bird-keeping, if
you be not very much on your guard, their hal-
loo will fometiraes deceive you. It is beft, when
you are in doubt, to fend on a whipper-in to
know ; the worfl then that can befiiU you is the
lofs of a little time; whereas, if you gallop
away with the hounds to the halloo, and are
obliged to return, it is a chance if they try for
the fcent afterwards: on the other hand, if, cer-
tain of the halloo, you intend going to it ; then
the fooner you get to it the better. 1 have been
inore angry with my huntfman, for being flow at
a time like tliis, than for any other fault whatfo-
ever. Huntfmen who are flow at getting to a
halloo, are void of common fenfe.

They frequently commit another fault by being
in too great a hurry when they get there. It is
hardly credible how much our eagernefs is apt, at
fuch a time, to miflead our judgment: for in-
ilance, when we get to the halloo, the firft quef-
tlons are natural enough. Did you fee the fox?
Which way did he go ? The man points with
his finger, perhaps, and then away you all ride
as fail: as you can ; and in fuch a hurry, that not
one will ftay to hear the anfwer to the queftion*
which all were fo ready to afk : the general con-
fequence of which is_, you miflake the place^ and

arof

THOUGHTS UPON HUNTING. "I93J

are obliged to return to the man for better infor-
mation. Depend upon it, the lefs you hurry on
this occalion the more time you fave ; and vvhere-
ever the fox was feen for a certainty, whether
near or diilant, that will not only be the fureft,
but alfo the befl place to take the fcent ; and,
betides the certainty of going right, you proba-
bly will get on fafter than you would by any
other means.

That balloos are not always to be depended on
will be fufficiently evinced by the following in-
Hances :

My hounds being at a long fault, a fellow hal-
looed to them from the top of a rick, at fome
diftance off. The huntfman, as you may be-
lieve, ftuck fpurs to his horfe, hallooed till he
was almofl hoarfe, and got to the man as quickly
as he could: the man ft ill kept hallooing, and
as the hounds got near him, " Here,'' faid he —
" here — here, the fox is gone." — *' Is he far before
" us ?" cried the huntfman. " How long ago
" was it that you faw him?" — " No, mafter, I
" have not feen him, but I frnelt him here this
" morning, when I came to ferve my flieep."

Another inftance was this : we were trying
with fome deer-hounds for an out-lying ftag,
when we faw a fellow running towards us in his

O ihirt:

194" THO'JGHTS UPON HUKTING.

jQiirt: we immediately concluded that we flioul(3
hear feme ne\vs of the ftag, and fet out joyfully
io meet him. Our iirft queftion was, if he had
iken the Hag ? *' No, Sir, I have not feen him,
*' hif viy ivife dreamt as hoiv Jhe faw him t'other
«' night:"

Once a man hallooed us back a mile, only to
tell us that zve roerc right before, and we loft the
fox by it.

A gentleman; feeing his hounds at fault, rode
lip to a man at plough, and with great eagernefs
afked him, if he had feen the fox ? " The fox,
" Sir!" — '^ Yes, d— n you, the fox ! Did you
*• never fee a fox V — " Pray, Sir, if I may be
°'* lb bould, what fort of a looking creature may
** he be ? has he Jlwrt ears and a Jong taiW —
*' }Vj-." — •'• Why then, I can afiure you, Sir, I
'* have feen no fuch thing J'

"Wc arc agreed, that hounds ought not to be-
caft as long as they are able to hunt ; and though
the idea, thai a hunted fox never flops, is a very
necefTary one to a fox-hunter, that he may be
a6live, and may lofe no time; yet tired foxes
will fiop, if you can hold them on; and I have
known them ftop, even in wheel-ruts, on the
open down, and leap up in the midfl of the
hounds. A tired fox ought not to be g^ive» up,

for

THOUGHTS UPON HUNTING. ig^

fyr he is killed fometimes very unexpe6ledly. If
hounds have ever prefTed him, he is worth your
trouble; perfeverance may recover him, and, if
recovered^ he moft probably will be killed ; nor
Ihould you defpair, whilil any fcent remains.
The bufinefs of a huntfman is only difficult when
the fcent dies quite away ; and it is then he may
fhew /lis judgment, when the hounds are no
longer able to fhew theirs. The recovering a
loft fcent, and getting nearer to the fox by a long
caft, requires genius, and is, therefore, what few
huntfmen are equal to. When hounds are no
longer capable of feeling the fcent, it all rells
with the huntfman ; either the game is entirely
given up, or is only to be recovered by him, and
is the efFedl of real genius, fpirit, and obferva-
tion.

When hounds are at cold hunting, with a bad
fcent, it may then be a proper time to fend a
whipper-in forward ; if he can fee the fox, a lit-
tle mobbing, at fuch a time as this, may reafon-
ably be allowed.

When hounds are put to a check on a high
road, by the fox being headed back, if in that
particular inftance you fuifer them to try back,
it gives them the belt chance of hitting off the
fcent again, as they may try on both lides at
once.

0% Wh«ii

I96 THOUGHTS UrOH HUNTING"*

When houn4s are running in cover, you can-
not be too quiet. If the fox be running fhort,
and the hounds arc catching him, not a word
Ihould then be faid : it is a difficult time for
hounds to hunt him, as he is continually turn-
ing, and will fometimes lie down, and let them
pals him.

I have remarked, that the greateft danger of
loling a fox is at the firfl finding of him, and
when he is linking; at both of which times he
frequently will run flioit, and the eagernefs of
the hounds is too apt to carry them beyond the
fcent. When a fox is lirft found, I wifh every
one would keep behind the liounds, till they are
well fettled to the fcent; and when the hounds
are catching him, I willi thcni to be as filent as
they can.

When he is caught, I hke (o fee hounds eat
him eagerly. Tn fome countries, I am told, they
have a method o^ treeing him;* it is of ufc to
make the hounds eager ; it lets them all in ; they
recover their wind, and cat him more readily. I
fhould advifc you, at the fame time, not to keep
him too long, as I do not imagine the hounds

* The intention of it is to make the hounds more eager,
and to let in the tail- hounds. The fox is thrown acrofs the
branch of a tree, and the hounds are fufFered to bay at him for
fome minutes, before he is thrown amongflthem.

have

THOUGHTS UPON HUNTING. I97

have any appetite to eat him, longer than whilft
they are angry with him.

When two packs of fox-hounds run together,
and they kill the fox, the pack that found hun is
entitled to the head. Should both have found,
how is it to be determined then ? The huntf-
man who gets in firfl feems, in my opinion, to
have the bell right to it ; yet to prevent a difpute,
(which, of courfe, might be thought a wTong-
headed one) would he not do well to cut oiF
the head, and prefent it to the other huntfman ?

The fame author, whom I quoted in my tenth
letter, and who tells us, how we fliould not eat a
hare, is alfo kind enough to tell us when we
Jliould eat a fox; I wifh he had cilfo ad' -'d tne
beft manner of dj-effing him: \vc are obliged to
him, however, for the following information : —
*' La chair du Renard efi moins mawvaife que celle
'' du hup ; les chiens et meme les Hommes enmangent
" en auto?nne, furtout Jorfqiiil s'eji nourri et en-
" S^^^Jj^ ^^ raifms."" — You would have been bet-
ter pleafed, I make no doubt, if the learned
gentleman had inflruc^ed you hozv to hunt himy
Tather'than vjheyi to eat him,

I fhall end this letter with an anecdote of a late
huntfman of mine, who was a great flip-flop,
and always called fucceflively, fuccefsfulJy, One

O 3 day.

i^S ^THOITGilTS U?ON HUNTING.

day, when he had been out with the young
hounds, I fent for him in, and aikcd him what
fport he had had, and how the hounds behaved?
** Very great fport. Sir, and no hounds could
<' behave any better." — " Did yon run him
*' long?" — " They ran him, and pleafe your
*' honour, upwards of three hours, fuccefsf idly .'*
— " So, then, you did kill him ?" — '* Oh^ no,
*' iSir, we loji him at JaJiJ''

LET-

ITHOUGHTS UPON HUNTING, 1 99

LETTER XVir.

FOX-HUNTING, an acquaintance of mine
fays, is only to be followed bccaufc you can
ride bard, and do lefs barm in tbat tban in any
otber kind of buntinc". Tbere may be fome truth
in tbe oblervation ; but, to fucb as loye tbe ri-
ding part only of bunting, would not a trail Icent
be more fuitable ? Gentlemen wbo bunt for tbe
fake of a ride, wbo are indifferent about tbe
liounds, and know little of tbe bulinefs, if tbey
do no barm, fulfil as mucb as we have reafon to
expe6l from them ; whilfl thofe of a contrary
defeription, do good, and have much greater
pleafure. Such as are acquainted with tbe
hounds, and can at times affift them, find the fport
more interefling; and frecjuently have tbe fatis-
faclion to think, that they themfelves contribute
to tbe fuccefs of tbe day. This is a pleafure you
often enjoy ; a pleafure, without any regret at-
tending it. I know not what effe6t it may have
on you ; but I know tbat m.y fpirits arc always
good after good fport in bunting ; nor is tbe reft
of the day ever difagreeable to me. What arc
other fports compared to this, which is full of en-
tbuliafm ! fifhing is, in my opinion, a dnili divcr-
fion;— -fliooting, though it admit of a companion^
will not allow of many:— both therefore may be

O 4 conlidored

ftOO THOITGHTS UPON HUNTINCJ.

conildered as Icllifh and folitary amufemenls,
compared with hunting ; to which, as many as
plcafe are welcome. The one might teach pa-
tience to a philofopher ; and the other, though
it occufion great fatigue to the body, feldom af-
fords much occupation to the mind. Whereas fox-
hunting is a kind of warfare ;— its uncertainties,
its fatigue?, its difficuUics, and its dangers, render-
ing it interefling above all other diverlions.

That you may more readily pardon this digref-
lion, I return to anfwcr your letter now before me.

I am glad to hear that your men have good
voices; mine, unluckily, have not. There is a
friend of mine, who hunts his own hounds ; his
voice is the ftrangeft, and his halloos the oddef}- I
ever heard. He has, however, this advantage :—
no dog can pofiibly miftake his halloo for an-
other's. Singularity conftitutcs an eflential part
of a huntf man's halloo :---it is for that reafon
alone, I prefer the horn, to which, I obferve,
hounds fly more readily tlian to the huntfman's
voice. Good voices certainly are pleaiing ; yet it
might be as well, perhaps, if thofe who have
them, were lefs fond of exerting them. When a
fox is hallooed, thofe who underftand this buli-
nefs, and get forward, may halloo him again;*

yet

* Should a fox be hallooed in cover, while the hounds are at
fault J if they be long in coming, by getting forward yon may

balloo

THOUGHTS UPON HUNTING. lOt

yet let them be told if the hounds go the con-
trary way, or do not feem to come on upon the
line of him, to halloo no more. With regard
to its being the hunted fox ; the fox which every
man halloos, is the hunted fox in his own opinion,
though he feldom has a better reatbn for it, than
becaufe he faw him. — Such halloos as ferve to
keep the hounds together, and to get on the tail
hounds, are always of ufe : halloos of encourage-
ment to leading hounds, if injudicioufly given,
may fpoil your fport. I am forry to fay view
halloos frequently do more harm than good. —
They are pleating to fporttinen, but prejudicial to
hounds. If a ftrong cover be full of foxes, and
they be often hallooed, hounds feldom take much
pains in hunting them ; hence arifes that indif-
ference, which fometimes is to be perceived in fox-
hounds while purfuing their game.

You afk me, if I would take off my hounds to
a halloo ? — If they be running with a good Icent,
J moft certainly would not; ifotherwife, and I

halloo the fox again; perhaps, before the hounds are laid on ; by
which means you will get nearer to him. In cafes like this, a
good fportfman may be of great ufe to hounds. There are days
when hounds will do their bufinefs beft if let quite alone; and
there are days, when they can do nothing, without affiftaace. —
Let them be aflifted at no other tim . V f a bad fcenting day,
or when hounds may be over-matche , yo j cannot aflift them
too much.

^ could

202 THOITGHTS UPON IfUNTIKG.

could depend upon the halloo, in fome cafes I
would : for inftance, when the ^ox is a great way
before them, or perfifts in running his foil ; for
fuch foxes are difficult to kill, unlefs you endea^
vour to get nearer to them by fome means or
other. When you hunt after them, it will fre-
quently happen that the longer you run, the fur-
ther you will be behind,

If hounds be out of blood, and a fox run his
foil, you need not fcrupie to flop the tail hounds,
and throw tlicm In at head ; or, if the cover have
any ridings cut in it, and the fox be often feen,
your huntfman, by keeping fome hounds at
his horfe's heels, at the firfl halloo that he hears,
may throw them in clofe at him.* — This will put
him out of his pace, and perhaps, put him off his
foil. It will be necelfary, when you do this, that
the whipper-in fliould flop the p?.ck from hunting
after, and get forvvard with thcni to the huntfman,
I have already given it as my opinion, that
hounds may be hallooed too much. If they

* Nothing is meant more than this — " that the himtfmari
{hould get the tail hounds off the line of the fcent, (where they
do more harm than good,) and encourage them forward ; if he
lliould hear a halloo, whilft thefe hounds are off the fcent, he
ihould lajthcm on to it ; it he ftiould not, the tail hounds, by this
means, may ftill ftand a. chance of getting to the head hounds by
itieear^ which they never could do, if they continued to run by
the ito^/e.

a fhould

THOUGHTS UPON HUNTING, 203

Hiould have been often ufed to a halloo, they
will expedl it ; and may trufl, perhaps, to their
ears, and eyes, more than to their noies. If they be
often taken from the fcent, it will teach them to
fliuffle, and probably will make them llack in
cover : it ihould be done, therefore, with great
caution ; not too often ; and always fhould be
well-timed. Famous huntfmen, I think, by mak-
ing too frequent a ufe of this, fometimes hurt their
hounds. I have heard of a iportfman, who never
fufFers his hounds to be lifted ; he lets them pick
along the coldell fcent, through flocks of Iheep :
this is a particular ftyle of fox-hunting, which,
perhaps, may fuit the country in v/hich that gen-
tleman hunts. I confefs to you, I do not think
it would faccced in a bad fcenting country, or
indeed, in any country where foxes are wild ; —
whilfl hounds can get on with the fcent, it can-
not be right to take them off from it ; but when
they are flopped for want of it, it cannot then
be wrong to give them every advantage in your
power.

It is wrong to fuffer hounds to hunt after
others that are gone on with the fcent, particu-
larly in cover ; for how are they to get up to them
with a worfe fcent ; befides, it makes them tye on
the fcent, teaches them to run dog, and deftroys
that laudable ambition of irettin": forward, whi^h
is the chief excellence of a fox-hound. A good

huntfinan

204 THOUGHTS UTON HUNTING.

buntfman will feldom fufi'er his head hounds to
run away from him ; if it fhould fo happen, and
they be ftill within his hearing, he will link the
wind with the reft of the pack, and get to
them as fafl as he can. — Though I fufFer not
a pack of fox-hounds to hunt after fuch as
may be a long way before the reft, for reafons
which I have juit given ; yet, when a fingle
hound is gone on with the fcent, I fend a whip-
per-in to flop him. "Were the hounds to be taken
off the fcent to get to him, and he fhould no lon-r
ger have any fcent when they find him, the fox
miglit be loft by it. This is a reafon, why in large
covers, and particularly fuch as have many roads
in them, fkirting hounds fliould be left at home
on windy days.

Skirters, I think, you may find hurtful, both
in men and dogs. Such as fkirt to lave their
horfes, often head the fox. Good tportlmen
never quit hounds, but to be of fervice to them :
with men of this defcription, fkirting becomes
a neceffary part of fox-hunting, and is of the
greateft ufe. Skirters ! beware of a furze-brake.
If you head back the fox, the hounds mofl: pro-
bably will kill him in the brake. Such as ride
after the hounds, at the fame time that they do
no good, are Icaft likely to do harm ; let fuch
only as underftand the bufinefs, and mean to be
of fervice to the hounds, ride wide of them; I

cannot

THOUGHTS UPON HUNTING^ 20 J

cannot however allow, that the riding clofe up
to hounds is always a lign of a good fportfman ;
if it were, a monkey, upon a good horfe, would be
the beft fportfrnan in the field. — ^Here mufb I cen-
fure, (but with refpecl) that eager fpirit which
frequently interrupts, and fometimes is fatal to
fport in fox-hunting ; for, though I cannot fub-
Icribe to the doiflrine of my friend ****, " that
'^ a pack of fox-hounds would be better w^ithout
'' a huntfman, than with one; and that if left to
'' themfelves, they would never lofe a fox ;" —
yet, allowing them their ufaal attendants, had he
obje(9:ed only to the fportfmen who follow them,
I muft have joined ifllie with him. Whoever
has followed hounds, mufi: have fccn them fre-
quently hurried beyond the Icent ; and whoever
is converfant in hunting, cannot but know, that
the fleam of many horfes, carried by the wind,
and mixed with a cold fcent, is prejudicial to it.

It fometimes will happen, that a good horfe-
man is not fo w^ell in with hounds, as an indif-
ferent one ; becaufe he feldom will condefcend
to get off his horfe. I believe, the befi way to
follow hounds acrofs a country, is to keep on the
line of them, and to difmount at once, when you
come to a leap which you do not choofe to take ;
for in looking about for eaiier places, much time
is loft. In following hounds, it may be ufeful
to you to know, that when in cover they run up

the

i,o6 THOUGHTS UPON HUNTtNG*

the wind, vou cannot in rcafon be loo far behind
ihem^ as long as you have a perfedV hearing of
them, and can comniand them ; and on the con-
trary, when they are running down the windj,
you cannot keep too clofe to them.

You complain that foxes are in too great
plenty ; beheve me, it is a good fault. I fliould
as foon have expelled to have heard your old ac-
quaintance, Jack R , complain of having too
much money ; however, it is not without a re-
medy ; hunt the fame covers conflantly, and you
will foon difperfe them. If your pack be Itrong
enough, divide it ; hunt every day, and you will
catch many tired foxes. I remember to have
killed a brace in one morning, in the ftrongcft
leafon ; the tirlT. in ten minutes, the fccond in
half aa hour. — If your own pack be not flrong
enough to hunt more than every other day, get a,
pack of harriers to hunt hare in the cover the
intermediate day. Foxes thus diflurbed, wall
faift their quarters ; they know their enemies, and
fmell in the night, wdiere they have been in the
day, and v.ill not ftay where they are likely to
be diflurbed by them. Follow them for one
week in this manner, and I do not tiiink you will
have any reafon, afterwards, to complain that
they are in too great plenty..

Whent

THOUCKTS tJPON HUNTING. 207

When covers are mucli diflurbed^ foxes will
fometimes break as foon as they hear a hound.
Where the country round is very opcrij the fom
leaft likely to break is that which you are hunting ;
^e will be very unv/illing to quit the cover, if it be
a large one, unless he can get a great diftance be-
fore the hounds. Should you be delirous to get
a run over fuch a country, the iikeliefl means will
be, to poft a quiet and Ikilful perfon to halloo
one off, and lay on to him. The further he is
before you, the lefs likely he will be to return.
The befl method, however, to hunt a cover like
this, is to ftick conftantly to it, not fuffering the
hounds to break, fo long as one fox fhall remain ;
do this two or three hunting days following ; foxes
will then fly, and you will have good chaccs.

Nothing is more hurtful to hounds than the
frequent changing of their country ; fhould they
change from a good fcenting country to a bad one,
unlefs they have luck on their fides, they may be
fome time without killing a fox ; whereas hounds
have always a great advantage in a country which
they are ufed to. They not only know better
where to find their game, but they will alfo pur-
fue it with more alacrity afterwards.

This letter began by a digrefllon in favour of
hunting ; it will end with the opinion of a
Frenchman, not fo favourable to it. This Gen-
tleman

CS THOUGHTS UP0I7 HUNTING*

tleman was in my neighbourhood on a vilit to
the iatc Lord Caftlehaven, who, being a great
Iportunan, thought he could not oblige his friend
more, than by letting him partake of an amufe-
ment, which he himfelf was fo fond of; he there-
fore mounted him on one of his bell horfcs, and
fhewed him a fox-chace. The Frenchman, after
having been well fhaken, dirted, tired, run away
with, and thrown down, was aflced, on his re-
turn, " comment il avoit trouve la cliajfe ?" — ^' Mor-
" hku! Milord,''^ faid he, fhrugging up his
Ihoulders, " votre chajfe eft une cliajje diahoJ'ique,^*

LET

taocTGHTs UPON ituNtirre. 209

LETTER XVIIL

T3EFORE I proceed on my fubje6V, give mc
'■^-^ leave to fet you right in one particular, where
I perceive you have mifunclerflood me. You lay,
you little expeded to fee the abilities of a huntf-
man degraded beneath thofe of a vvhipper-in»
This is a ierious charge againfl me as a fportiman ;
and though I cannot allow that I have put the
cart before the horfe, in the manner you are
pleafed to mentio/i ; yet you have made it necef-
fary for me to explain myfeif further.

I mufl therefore remind you, that I fpeat of
jny own country only, a country full of riot ;
where the covers are large, and where there is a
chace full of deer, and full of game. In fuch a
country as this, you that know fo well how necel^
fary it is for a pack of fox-hounds to be fleady,
and to be kept together, ought not to wonder
that I fhould prefer an excellent whipper-in to
an excellent huntfman. No one knows better
than yourfelf, how eflential a good adjutant is to
a regiment : believe me, a good whipper-in is
not lefs neceflary to a pack of fox-hounds. Bui
I muft beg y^u to obferve, I mean only, thaP I

P fould

ilO THOUGHTS UPON IIL'NTIKG,

could do better ivlth mediocrity hi the one than in the
other. If I have written any thing in a former
letter that imphes more, I beg leave to retra6l it
in this. Yet I muft confefs to you, that a famous
huntfman I am not very ambitious to have ; un-
lefs, it neceflarily followed, that Iiq muft have
.famous hounds : a conclufion I cannot admit, a3
long as thefe, fo famous gentlemen, will be con-
tinually attempting themfelves to do what would
be much better done if left to their hounds ; be-
iides, they feldom are good fervants, are always
conceited, and fometimes impertinent. I am very
Avell fatisfied if my huntfman be acquainted with
his country and his hounds ; if he ride well up
to them, and if he have fome knowledge of the
nature of the animal which he is in purfuit of;
but fo far am I from wifhing him to he famous,
that I hope he will ilill continue to think his
hounds know beft how to hunt a fox.

You fay you agree with me, that a huntfman

jfliould ftick - clofe to his hounds. If then his

place be nxed^ and that of the iiril whipper-in

(where you h^ive'two) be not, I cannot but think

, genius may be at leaft as ufeful in one as in the

other: for inftance, while the huntfman is riding

to his headmoll hounds, the. whipper-in, if he

-have genius, may fliew it in various ways; he

y may clap forward to any: great earth that may, by

chance.

THOUGHTS UPON HUNTING. 211

chance, be open; he may fink the wind to halloo,
or mob a fox, when the fcent fails ; he may keep
him off his foil ; he may flop the tail hounds,
and get them forward ; and has it frequently in
his power to aflill: the hounds without doing them
any hurt, provided he fhould have fenfe to dif-
tinguifh where he may be chiefly wanted. Be-
lides, the moil elTential part of fox-hunting, the
making and keeping the pack fteady, depends
entirely upon him ; as a huntfman fliould feldom
rate, and never liog a hound. In fliort, I con-
iider the firfl whipper-in as a fecond huntfman ;
and, to be perfect, he fhould be not lefs caj^able
of hunting the hounds than the huntfman hiinfelf.

You cannot too much recommend to your
whipper-in to get to the head of his hounds, be-
fore he attempts to flop them. The rating behind
is to little purpofe, and if they fliould be in
cover, may prevent him from knowing who the
culprits are. When your hounds are running a
fox, he then fliould content himfelf with flopping
fuch as are riotous, and fhould get them forward.
They may be condemned upon the fpgt, but the
punifhment fhould be deferred till the next day,
when they may be taken out on purpofe to com-
mit the fault, and fufFer the punifliment. I agree
with you, that young hounds cannot be awed
too much ; yet fufFer not your punifhment of

P 2 them

(212 tHOUGHTS tJfON fiUNTlN6.

them to exceed their offence. I could vvifli to
draw a Hne betwixt juflice and barbarity.*

A whipper-in, while breaking in young hounds,
fometimes will rate them before they commit the
fault : this may, perhaps, prevent them for that
time, but they will be jull as ready to begin the
next opportunity. Had he not better let them
quite alone till he fee what they would be at ?
The dilciplinc then may be proportioned to the
degree of the offence. Whether a riotous young
hound run little or much is of fmall confequence
if he be not encouraged ; it is the blood only
that fignifies, which in every kind of riot fhould
carefully be prcvented.-f*

* I am forry that It {hoiild be neccfTary to explain what I
mean by barbarity. I mean that punifliment, which is either
unneceflarily inflicled; which is infli6led with feverity; or
from which no poffible good can arife. Punifliment, when
properly applied, is not cruelty, is not revenge, it is juftice;
it is even mercy. The intention of punifliment is to prevent
crimes, and, confequently, to prevent the neceffity of punifliing.

f It is not meant that hounds fliould be fuffered to continue
on a wrong fcent longer than may be necelTary to know that
the fcent is a wrong one. This paflage refers to page 88,
where the author's meaning is more fully explained. It is in-
troduced here more ftrongly to mark the danger of encouraging
hounds on a wrong fcent, and indulging them afterwards in the
blood of it.

My

THOUGHTS UPON HUNTING. 213

My general orders to my whipper-in arc, if
when he rate a hound, tbiC hound does not mind
him, to take him up immediately, and give hitn
a fevere flogging. Whippers-in are too apt to
cpntinue rating, even when they find that rating
will not avail. There is but one way to ilop fuch
hounds, which is to get to the heads of them. —
I will alfo tell him, never on any account to
ilrike a hound, unlefs the hound be at the fame
time fenfible what it is for. — What think you of
the whipper-in who ftruck a hound as he was
going to cover, becaufe he was likely to be noify
afterwards, faying, '* jou ivHl be no'ify enough by
" afid by, J warrant you." Whippers-in, when
Ifift to themfelves, are rare judges of propriety!
I wifh they would never flrike ^ hound that does
r^ot deferve it, and would ilril^e thofe hard that
do. They feldom diftingpifh fufhciently the de-
grees of offence which a dog may have commit-
ted, to proportion their punifhment accordingly ;
and fuch is their ftupidity, that when they turn
a hound after the huntfman, they will rate him
as feverely as if he had been guilty of the greatef^
liiult.

It is feldom neceffary to flog hounds to make
them obedient, lince obedience is the firft leifon
they are taught. Yet, if any fhould be more
riotous than the reft, they may receive a few cuts
in the morning before they leave the kennel.

? 3 When

2.14 THOUGHTS rpON HUNTING.

When hounds prove unfteady, every pofTible
means fhould be taken to make them otherwife.
A hare, or a deer, put into the kennel amongft
them, may then be necelTary. Huntfmen are too
fond of kennel difcipline. You already know
my opinion of it. I never allow it but in cafes
of great neceffity. I then am always prefcnt my-
felf to prevent excefs. To prevent an improper
and barbarous ufe of fuch difcipline, I have al-
ready told you, is one of the chief obje6ls of
thefe letters. If what Montaigne fays be true, that
" there is a certain general claim of kindnefs and
*' benevolence which every creature has a right
" to from us," furely we ought not to fufFer un-
neceflary feverity towards an animal to whom we
are obliged for fo much diverlion ; and what opi-
nion muft we have of the huntfman who inflids
it on one to whom he owes his daily bread.*

* " Perhaps it is not the leafi; extraordinary circumftance in
thefe flogging lectures, that they fhould be given with Mon-
taigne, or any other moral author whatever, in recollection at
the fame inftant !" (Vide Monthly Review.) Perhaps it is not
the leaft extraordinary circumftance in thefe criticifms, that
this pafTage fliould have been quoted as a proof of the author's
.inhumanity. — The critic ends his ftridures with the following
exclamation : " Of a truth, a fportfman is the moft uniform,
confiflent charafter, from his own reprefentation, that we ever
contemplated!" and yet, perhaps, there are fportfmen to be
found, poffefled of as tender feelings of humanity as any critic
whatfoever. The motto prefixed to thefe letters, if it had beea
attended to, might have entitled the author to more candour
than the critic has thoucht fit to beftow upon him.

If

THOUGHTS UPON HUNTING. !2I^

If any of my hounds be very riotous, they are
taken out by thcmfelves on the days when they
do not hunt, and j^roperly punifhed ; and this is
continued whiltl my patience lafts, which, of
courfe, depends on the value of the dog. It is
a trial betwixt the whippcr in and tiie dog, which
will tire firfl ; and the whipper-in, I think, gene-
rally prevails. If this method will not make
them fleady, no other can ; they then are looked
upon as incorrigible, and are put away.

Such hounds as are notorious offenders Ihould
alio feel the lafh and hear a rate as they go to the
cover ; it may be an ufcful hint to them, and
may prevent a feverer flogging afterwards. A
fenlible whipper-in will wait his opportunity to
fingle out his hound; he will then hit him hard,
and rate him well, whilft a foolifh one will often
hit a dog he did not intend to hit ; will ride full
gallop into the midft of the hounds ; will, per-
haps, ride over fome of the heft of them, and
put the whole pack into confulion — this is a ma-
noeuvre I cannot bear to fee.

Have a care ! are words which feldom do any
harm ; lince hounds, when they are on a right
fcent, will not mind them. Let your whipper-in
be careful how he encourage the hounds; that,
improperly done, may fpoil your pack.

P 4 A whip-

^l6 THOUGHTS UPON HUNTING,

A whipper-in will rale a hound^ and then en-
deavour to fiog him. A dog, after having been
rated, will naturally avoid the whip. Tell your
whipper-in, whenever a hound fhall deferve the
lafli, to whip him firil, and rate him afterwards.

When there are two whippers-in, one ought
always to be forward. When there is only one,
he, to be perfedl, Ihould be a very Mimgo, here^
there, and every whereip

You will find it difHcult to Iceep your people
in their proper places; I. have been obliged to
flop back myfelf to bring on hounds which my
fcrvanis had left behind. 1 cannot give you a
greater proijf how neceflary it is that a whipper-
in Ihould bring home all his hounds, than by
telling you, that I had loft a,n old hound for ten
days, and fent all the country oyer to inquire
after hini ; and at laft, when I thought no more
about him, in drawing a large cover in the coun-
try where he had been loft:, he joined the pack ;
he was exceedingly emaciated, and it was a long
time before he recovered : how he fubfifted all
that time I cannot imagine. When any of your
hounds may be miffing, you ihould fend the
whipper-in back immediately to look for them ;
it will teach him to keep them more togcthera

Th@

'SH0I7GH.TS UPON HUNTING. ^IJ

The getting forward the tall hounds is a necef-
^ry part of fox-hunting, in which you will find
^ good whipper-in of the greatell ufe. He mufl
alfo get forward himfclf at times, when the huntt"-
man is not with the hounds ; but the fecond
whipper-in (who frequently is a young lad, ig-
norant of his bufinefs) on no account ought to
encourage or rate a hound, but wlien he is quite
certain it is right to do it ; nor is he ever to get
forward, fq long as a lingle hound remairui
behind.

Halloo forzvard is certainly a neceffary and a
good halloo, but is it notufcdtoo indifcriininately?
it is for ever in the mouth of a whipper in. If
your hounds be never ufed to that halloo till after
§ fox be found, you will fee them fly to it. At
other times other halloos will anfwer the purpofe
of getting them on as well. Halloo forward being
ufed as foon as the game is on foot, it feeras as if
another halloo were neceiTary to denote the break-
ing cover, jiway ! away! might anfwer that
purpofe. Gentlemen who are kind enough to
ilop back to aflifl hounds, fhould have notice giveni
them v;hen the hounds leave the cover.

Mofc huntfmen, I believe, are jealous of the
\vhipper-in; they frequently look on him as a
fucceiTor, and therefore do not very readily admit
laim into the kennel ; yet, in my opinion, it '^

neceffary

2l8 THOUGHTS UPON HUNTING.

nectlTiiry that he fliould go thither, for he ought
to be well acquainted with the hounds, who
ifliould know and follow him as well as the
huntfman.

To recapitulate what I have already £iid : if
your whipper-in be bold and a6livc ; be a good
and careful horfeman ; have a good ear and a
clear voice ; if, as 1 faid, he be a very Miuiga^
having, at the fame time, judgment to diflinguifh
where he can be of motl ufe ; if, joined to thefe,
he be above the foolifh conceit of killing a fox
without the huntfman ; but, on the contrary,
be difpofcd to aflift him all he can, he then is a
pcrfe6l wliipper-in.

I am forry to hear that your hounds aife lb un-
ileady; it is fcarcely poffible to have fport
with unilcady hounds ; they are half tired before
the fox is found, and are not to be depended
upon afterwards. It is a great pleafure when a
hound challenges to be certain he is right : it is a
cruel difappointment to hear a rate immediately
fucceed it, and the fmacking of whips, inftead
of halloos of encouragement. A few riotous and
determined hounds do a deal of mifchief in a
pack. Never, when you can avoid it, put them
amongfl the reft ; let them be taken out by them-
felves and well chaftifed, and if you find them
incorrigible hang them. The common faying^,

evil

THOUGHTS UPON HUNTING. 21^

evil communications corrupt good 7}ia?iners, holds
good with regard to hounds ; they are eafily cor-
rupted. The leparatlng of the riotous ones froia
thofe s^'hich are fleady anfwers many good pur-
pofes : it not only prevents the latter from getting
the blood which they fhould not, but it alfo pre-
vents them from being over-aw-ed by the fmacking
of whips, which is too* apt to obflruft drawing
and going deep into cover. A couple of hounds,
which I received from a neighbour laft year, were
hurtful to my pack. They had run with a pack
of harriers, and, as I foon found, were never af-
terwards to be broken from hare. It was the be-
ginning of the feafon, covers were thick, hares ia
plenty, and we feldom killed lefs than five or lix
in a morning. The pack at lafi: got i^o much
blood, that they would hunt them as if they were
deiigned to hunt nothing elfe. I parted with
that couple of hounds, and the others, by proper
management, are become as fteady as they were
before. You will remind me, perhaps, that they
were draft-hounds. It is true, they v/ere fo ; but
they were three or four years hunters, an age
when they might be fuppofed to have known
better. I advife you, unlefs a knov/n good pack,
of hounds are to be difpofed of, not to accept old
hounds. I mention this to encourage the breed-
ing of hounds, and as the likcliefl means of get-
ting a handfome, good, ?iX\d Jieady pack : though
1 give you this advice, it is true, I have accepted
9, drafi^

220 THOUGHTS UPON HUNTING.

draft-hounds myfelf, and they have been very
good ; but they were the gift of the friend men-
tioned by me in a former letter, to whom I have
already acknowledged many obligations; and,
unlets you meet with fuch a one, old hounds
w ill not prove w^orthy your acceptance :* befides,
they may bring vices enough along with thcrr^
to tpoll your whole pack. If old hounds fhould
be nnfteady, it may not be in your power tQ
make them ptherwife ; and I c^n aflurc; you from
experience, th^t an unfleady old hound will give
you more trouble than all your young ones; the
fatter will at Icaft Hop, but an oblHnate old hound
-^'ill frequently run mute, if he find that he can
run no other way ; befidcs, old hqunds that are
unacquainted with your people will not readily
hunt for them as they ought ; and fuch as were
fteady in their own pack may become unfleady in
your's. I once faw an extraordinary iniiance of
this when I kept harriers : hunting one day on the
downs, a well-known fox-hound of a neighbour-
ing gentleman came and joined us, and as he
both Yi\n fafler than wc did, and fkirted more, he
broke every fault, and killed many hares. I faw
this hound often \n his ovyn pack afterwards,
where he was perfedly ftcady ; and, though he
gonflantly hunted in covers where hares were iHj

* The Hon. Mr. Booth Grey, brother to the Earl of Stam-
ford. The hounds here alluded to were from Lord Stamford's
kennel.

great

TltOUGHTS UPON HUNTINd. 22£

great plenty, I never remember to have feen him
run one Hep after them.

A change of country alfo will fometimes oc-
cation a difference in the fteadinefs of hounds.
My hounds hunt frequently in Cranborn Chace,
and are Heady from deer, yet I once knew them
run an outlying deer, which they unexpecledly
found in a diftant country.

I am forry to hear fo bad an accident has hap-
pened to your pack as that of killing fheep ; but,
I apprehend, from your account of it, that ft
proceeded from idlenefs rather than vice. The
manner in which the llieep were kiUed may give
you fome inlight into it ; old practitioners gene-
rally feizing by the neck, and leldom, if ever,
behind. This, like other vices, fometimes runs
in the blood ; in an old hound it is, I believe,
incorrigible ; the bcft way, therefore, will be to
hang all thofe which, after two or three whip-
pings, cannot be cured of it. In fome countries
hounds are more inclined to kill llieep than they
are in others. Hounds may be fteady in coun-
tries where the covers are fenced, and fh^ep are
only to be feen in flocks. eiiht*r in larg- fields, or
on open downs ; and the fame hound? may be
unfteady in forefts and heathy countries where
the Iheep are not lefs wild than the deer. How-
ever hounds, lliould they fiir but a ftcp after
3 iheuD

222 THOLTGHTS UPON HUNTING.

them, fiiould undergo the feverell difciplmc ; if
young hounds do it from idlenefs, t/iat, and plenty
of workj may reclaim them ; for old bounds,
guilty of this vice, I know, as I faid before, of
but one fure remedy — ;t/ie halter.

Though I fo f^rongly recommend to you \xy
make your hounds Iteady, from having feen un-
f^cady packs, yet I mu/l alfo add, that I have
frequently fecn the men even more unfteady than
the hounds. It is fhocking to hear hounds hal-
looed one minute and rated the next : nothing
offends a good fportfman fo much, or is in itfelf
fo hurtful. I M'ill give you an inflance of the
danger of it; — my beagles were remarkably
ftcady ; they hunted hare in Cranborn Chace,
where deer are in great plenty, and would draw
for hours without taking the leafl notice of them.
When tired of hare-hunting, I was inclined to
try if I could find any diverfion in hunting of
fallow deer. I had been told, that it would be
impolTible to do it with thofe hounds that had
been made fteady from them ; and, io put it to
the trial, I took them into a cover of my own,
which has many ridings cut in it, and wdiere are
many deer. The firfl deer we faw we hallooed,
and by great encouragement, and confiant hal-
looing, there were but few of thefe fieady hounds
but would run the fcent. They hunted deer con-
fiantly from that day^ and never lofl one after-

v/ards.

THOinSHTS UPON HUNTING. 22'^

wards. Dogs are fenlible animals ; they fooa
find out what is required of them, wlieu we do
not confufe them by our own heedlelsnefs : when
we encourage them to hunt a fcent which they
have been rated tVom, and, perhaps, feverely
chaftifed for hunting, they muft needs think us
cruel, capriciojjs, and inconlillent.*

If you know any pack that is very unfteady,
depend upon it, either no care has been taken in
entering the young hounds to make them fteady;
or elfe the men, afterwards, by hallooing them
on improperly, and to a wrong fcent, have forced
them to become fo.

The iirft day of the feafon I advife you to take
out your pack where you have leaft riot, and
where you are mofl fure to find ; for, notwith-
ftanding their lleadinefs at the end of the lafl
feafon, long reft may have made them otherwife.

* Though all hounds ought to be made obedient, none re-
quire it fo much as fox-hounds, for without it they will be
totally uncontroulable ; yet, not all the chaftifement that cruelty
can inflitft will render them obedient, unlefs they be made to
underftand what is required of them; when tl'at is efFe(5led,
many hounds will not need chaftifement, if you do not fufFer
them to be corrupted by bad example. Few packs are more
obedient than my own, yet none, I believe, are chaftifed lefs ;
for, as thofe hounds that are guilty of an offence, aje ?iever
fardoned^ fo thofe that are innocent, being by ttiis means lefs
Kable to be corrupted, are never ^unified.

If

214 T»OUGHtS UPON Hiri^riMG,

li' you have any hounds more vicious than the
refl, they fliould be left at home a day or two,
till the others arc well in blood : your people,
without doubt, will be particularly cautious at
the beginning of the feaibn what hounds they
halloo to : fhould they be encouraged on a wrong
Icent it will be a great hurt to thera.

The firft day that you hunt in the forell; be
equally cautious what hounds you take out. All
Ihould be fteady from deer ; you afterwards may
put others to them, a few at a time. I have feeri
a pack draw fteadily enough ; and yet, when
running hard, fall on a weak deer, and reil as
contented as if they had killed their fox. Thefe
hounds were not chaftifed, though caught in the
fadl, but were fuffered to draw on for a freHi
fox ; I had rather they had undergone feverc dif-
cipline. The finding of another fox with them,
afterwards might then have been of fervice;
otherwife, in my opinion, it could only ferve tc^
encourage them in the vice, and make them worfc
and worfe.

I muH: mention an initance of extraordinary
iagacity in a fox-beagle, which once belonged to
the Duke of Cumberland. I entered him at hare,
to which he was immediately fo fleady, that he
would run nothing elfe. When a fox was found
by the beagles, which fometimes happened, he

would

THOUGHTS UPON HUNTING. ^2j;

would inftantly come to the heels of the huntf-
man's horfe : fome years afterwards I hunted fox
only, and though I parted with moll of the otherS;,
I kept Um: he went out conftantly with the pack,
and as hares were fcarce in the country I then
hunted, he did no hurt ; the moment a fox was
found, he came to the horfe's heels. This continued
fome time, till catching view of a fox that was
Unking, he ran in with the refl, and was well
blooded. He, from that time to the day of his
death, was not only as Iteady a hound to fox as
ever I knew, but became alfo our very bell finder.
I bred fome buck-hounds from him, and they
are remarkable for never changing from a hunted
deer.

Your huntfman's weekly return is a very cu-
rious one; he is particularly happy in the fpelling.
The following letter, which is in the fame ftyle,
may make you laugh, and is, perhaps, no un^
fuitable return for your's.

a SIR

ri'iC THOUGHTS UPON HUNTING.

SIR

HONOURED* -r * —

I have been out with tlie hounds this day to ayer
the frofl is very bad the hounds are all pure well
at prefent and horfes Ihephard has had a misfortin
with his marc fhe hung harfelf with the holtar
and throd har felf and hroak har neck and frac
tard fkul fo we was forsd to nock har In the head

from your ever dutiful Humbel Sarvant.

**** ******

Wedncfday evening.

* The lines emitted were not upon the fubjeifl of hunting.

LET-

♦thoughts upon hunting. 227

LETTER XIX.

FINDING, by your lail: ktter, that an early
hour does not fuit you, I will mention fome
particulars which may be of ufe to you when you
hunt late : an early hour is only necefTary whiere
covers are large, and foxes fcarce ; where they
are in plenty, you may hunt at any hour you
pleafe. When foxes are weak, by hunting late
you have better chaces ; when they are ftrong,
give me leave to tell you, you muft hunt early, or
you will not always kill them. I think, however,
when you go out late, you fhould go immediately
to the place where you are moll likely to find ;
which, generally fpeaking, is the cover that
hounds have been leaft in. If the cover be large,
)Tou fhould draw only fuch parts of it as a fox is
likely to kennel in ; it is ufelefs to draw any other
at a late hour. Befides, though it be always
right to find as foon as you can, yet it can never
be fo necelTary as when the day is far advanced :
if you do not find foon, a long and tirefome day
is generally the confcquence. Where the cover
■ is thick, you fhould draw it as exadly as if you
were trying for a hare : particularly if it be furzy :
for, when there is no drag, a fox. at a late hour,
Q a v.-ill

228 THOtJGHTS UPON HUNTING.

will lie till the hounds come clofe upon him. —
Having drawn one cover, let your huntitnan ilay
for his hounds, and take them along with him to
another : I have known hounds find a fox after
the huntfman had left the cover. The whippers-
in are not to be fparing of their whips, or voices
on this occafion, and are to come through the
middle of the cover, to be certain that they leave
no hounds behind.

A huntfman will complain of hounds for flay-
ing behind in cover. — It is a great fault, and
makes the hound addicted to it of but little value ;
yet this fault frequently is occafioned by the
liuntfman*s own mifmanagement. Having drawn
one cover, he hurries away to another, and leaves
the whipper-in to bring on the hounds after him ;
but the whipper-in is feldom lefs dclirous of get-
ting forward than the huntfman ; and, unlcfs they
come ofFeafily, it is not often that he will give
himfelf much concern about them. Hounds alfo
that are left too long at their walks, will acquire
this trick from hunting" by themfelves, and are
not eafily broken of it. — Having faid all tliat I can
at prefent recolle^i of the duty of a whipper-in,
1 fhall now proceed to give you a further account
of that of a huntfman. What has already been
faid on the fubje6t of drcrjj'ing and cqfi'mg, related
to the fox-chace defcribed in a former letter.—
Much, without doubt, is ftill left to fay ; and I
3 will

THOUGHTS UPON HUNTING. 12g

will endeavour, as well as I am able, to fupply
the deficiency, by conlidering, firft, in what man-
jier he fhould draw ; and afterwards, how he
fhould cafl his hounds.

The fixing a day or two beforehand upon the
cover in which you intend to hunt, is a great
hindrance to fport in fox-hunting. You that
have the whole country to yourfelf, and can hunt
on either fide of your houfe, as you pleafe, fhould
never, (when you can help it) determine on your
place of hunting, till you fee what the weather is
likely to be.* The moil probable means to have
good chaces, is to choofe your country according
to the wind.

It will alfo require fome confideration to place
hounds to the greatefl advantage where foxes
jeither are in great plenty, or very fcarce.

Hounds that lie idle, are always out of wind,
and are ealily fatigued. The firfl day you go
put after a long frofl, you cannot expert much
fport ; take therefore, conliderably more than the
ufual number of hounds, and throw them into
the largcfl cover that you have ; if any foxes be

* When the fcent lies badly, fmall covers, or thofe in which
a fox cannot move unfeen, are moft favourable to hounds. In
fuch covers, good fportfmen will kill foxes in almofl a,ny wea?

Q3 '^n

230 THOUGHTS UPOK HUNTING.

in the country, it is there you will find them*
After once or twice going out in this manner,
you Ihould reduce your number.*

Before a huntfman goes into the kennel to draft
his hounds, let him determine within himfelf the
number of hounds it will be right to take out ; as
likewife the number of young hounds that he can
T-enture in the country where he is going to hunt.
Different countries may require different hounds :
fome may require more hounds than others : it
is not an eafy matter to draft hounds properly ;
nor can any expedition be made in it, without
fome method.-f-

Ifel-

* During a frofl, hounds may be exercifed on downs, or the
turnpike roads ; nor will it do any matei-ial injury to their feet.
Prevented from hunting, they Ihould be fed fparingly ; and fuch
as can do v^ithout flefli, fhould have none given them. A
courfe of vegetables, fulphur, and thin meat is the likeliell means
to keep them healthy.

f No hound ought to De left at home, unlefs there be a rea-
fon for it; it is therefore that I fay great nicety is required to
draft hounds poperly. Many huntfmen, I believe, think it of
no great confequence which they take out, and which they
leave, provided they have the number requifite. A perfeft
knowledge in feeding and drafting hounds, are the two moft ef-
fential parts of fox-hunting : good hounds will require but lit-
tle affiftance afterwards. By feedings I mean the bringing the
hound into the field, in his higheft vigour. By drafting, I par-
ticularly mean the taking out no unfleady hound, nor any that

are

THOUGHTS UPON HUNTING, fejl

I reldom fufFer many unflcady hounds to be
taken out together ; and when I do, I take care
that none fliall go out with them, but fuch as they
cannot fpoil.

When the place of meeting, and time are fixed,
every huntfman ought to be as exadl to them as
it is poffible. On no account is he to be lefore
the time ; 3'et, on fome occalions, it might be
better, perhaps, for the diverlion, were he per-
mitted to be after it* The courfe your huntf-
man intends to take in drawing, ought alfo to be
well underflood before he leaves the kennel.

If your huntfman, without inconveniency, can
begin drawing at the fartheft cover down the
wind, and fo draw from cover to cover up the

are not likely to be of fervice to the pack : — when you intend
to hunt two days following, it is then that the greateft nicety will
be requifite to make the moft of a fniall pack. Placing hounds
to the greateft advantage, as mentioned in page 428, may alfa
be confidered as a neceflary part of fox-hunting

Hounds that are intended to hunt the next day, and are drafted
off into the hunting kennel as foon as they are fed, Ihould be let
out again into the outer court in the evening; my hounds have-
generally fome thin meat given them at this time, while the feeder
cleans out thair kennel, (vide note page 44.) I have already
faid that cleaulinefs is not lefs effential than food.

* When there is a white froft for inftance, at the going off
Qf which, the fcent never lies,

Q 4 wind

^32; THOUGHTS UPON HUNTING.

wind till you find^ let him do it : it will have
many advantages attending it : he will draw the
fame covers in half the time ; your people can-
not fail of being in their proper places ; you will
have lefs difticulty in getting your hounds off;
and as the fox will moft probably run the covers,
that liave been already drawn, you are leafl likely
to change.

If you have a firing of fmall covers, and plenty
of foxes in them, fome caution may be neceflary
to prevent your hounds from difturbing them all
in one day. Never hunt your fmall covers till
you have well rattled the large ones firft ; for
until the foxes be thinned and difperfed, where
they were in plenty, it muft be bad policy to
drive others there to incrcafe the number. — If
you would thin your foxes, you muft throw off
at the fame cover as long as you can find a fox.
If you come off with the fox that breaks, you do
not difturb the cover, and may expc61 to find
there again the next day; but where they are
fcarce, you fliould never draw the fame cover
two days following.

Judicious huntfmen will obferve where foxes like
befl to lie. In chaces and forefls, where you have
a great tradl of cover to draw, fuch obfervation
is neceflary, or you will lofe much time in finding*.
Generally ipeaking, I think they are fondefl

of

THOUGHTS UPON HUNTING. 2^^

of fuch as lie high, and are dry and thick at bot-
tom ; fuch alfo as lie out of the wind ; and fuch
as are on the funny tide of hills.* The fame
cover where you iind one fox, when it has re-
mained quiet any time, will probably produce
another.

It is to little pnrpofe to draw hazle coppices at
the time when nuts are gathered ; furze covers,
or two or three years coppices, are then the only
quiet places that a fox can kennel in : t/iey alfo
are dillurbed when pheafant-fhooting begins, and
older covers are more likely. The fealbn when
foxes are moft wild and ftrong is about Chrift-
mas; a huntfman, then, muft lofe no time in
drawing ; he muft draw up the wind ; imlefs the
cover be very large, in vv^hich cafe it may be bet-
ter perhaps to crofs it ; giving the hounds a fide
wind, left he fhould be obliged to turn down the
wind at laft : — in either cafe let him draw as
quietly as he can.

Young coppices, at this time of the year, are
quite bare ; the moft likely places are four or five
years coppices, and fuch as are furzy at bottom.

* This muft of courfe vary in different countries, a huntf-
man who has been ufed to a country knows beft where to find
his game.

W

234 THOUGHTS UPON HUNTING.

It is ealy to perceivCj by the account you give
of your hounds, that they do not draw well ;
your huntfrnan, therefore, mull be particularly
attentive to them after a wet night. The befl
drawing hounds are fhy of fearching a cover
when it is wet ; your's, if care be not taken, will
not so into it at all : vour huntfraan fhould ride
into the likelicfl part of the cover, and as it iis
probable there will be no drag, the clofcr he
draws the better : he mufl not draw too much an
end, but fhould crofs the cover backwards and
forwards, taking care at the fame time to give
ills hounds as much the wind as poffible.*

It is not often that you will fee a pack perfe6lly
itcady, where there is much riot, and yet draw
well : fome hounds will not exert themfelves, till
others challenge, and are cncouraged.-j~

I fear the many harriers that you have in your
neighbourhood will be hurtful to your Iport . by
conflantly diflurbing the covers, they will make

* Hounds that are hunted conftantly at an early hour,
feldiom I think draw well ; they depend too much upon a drag,
and it is not in the ftrongeft part of the cover that they are ac-
Cttftomed to try for it.

■f This relates to making hounds fteady only, which always
caufes confalion, and interrupts drawing. When once a pack-
are become fteady, they will be more likely to draw well, than if
liw^ were not,

2, the

THOUGHTS UPON HUNTING, 235

the foxes Ihy, and when the covers become thin,
there will be but little chance of finding foxes in
them : furze covers are then tlie moft likely
places. Though I like not to fee a huntfman to a
pack of fox-hounds ever off his horfe, yet, at a
late hour, he Ihould draw a furze cover as ilosvly
as he were himfelf on foot. I am well convinced
that huntfmen, by drawing in too great a hurry,
leave foxes fometimes behind them. I once faw
a remarkable inftance of it with my own hounds:
we had drawn (as we thought) a cover^ which in
the whole, confifled of about ten acres ; yet,
whilft the huntfman was blowing his horn, to get
his hounds off, one young fox was hallooed, and
another was feen immediately after: it was a
cover on the fide of a hill, and the foxes had ken-
nelled clofe together at an extremity of it, where
no hound had been. Some huntfmen draw too
c[uick, fome too flow ; — the time of day, the be-
haviour of his hounds, and the covers they are
<lrawing, will uiredl an obferving huntfman in the
pace which he ought to go. When you try a
furze brake, let me give you one caution ; — never
halloo a fox till you fee that he is quite clear of it.
When a fox is found in fuch places, hounds are
fure to go off well with him ; and it mufl be
ov/ing cither to bad fcent, bad hounds, bad
management, or bad luck, if they fail to kill him
afterwards.

It

236 THOUGHTS UPON HUNTING.

It is ufual in moft packs to rate, as foon as a young
hound challenges. Though young hounds are often
wrong, yet fince it is not impoffible that they may
be fometimes right, is it not as well to have a
little patience, in order to fee whether any of the
old ones will join, before any thing is faid to
them ? Have a care ! is fully fufficient, till you
are nfiore certain that the hound is on a wrong
fcent. I mention this as a hint only — I am my-
felf no enemy to a 7-ate — I cannot think that a fox
was ever loll, or pack fpoilcd by it : it is improper
encourazement that I am afraid of moil.

o ■ ■ ■

When a fox flinks from his kennel, gets a
great way before the hounds, and you are oblige^
to hunt after him with a bad fcent ; if it be a
country where foxes are in plenty, and you know
where to find another, you had better do it.*

While hounds arc drawing for a fox, let your
people place themfelves in fuch a manner that he
cannot go off unfeen. I have known them lie in
fheep's fcrapes on the hde of hills, and in fmall
bufhes, where huntfmen never think of looking
for them ; yet, vihcn they hear a hound, they
generally fliift their quarters, and make for clofer

* Yet if this were pracftifed often, it might make the hounds
indifferent when xipon a cold fcent. Hounds fliould be made to
believe they arc to kill that game which they are firfl encourage4
to puriue.

covers.

THOUGHTS UPON HUNTING. 237

covers. — Gentlemen jfhould lake this neceflary
part of fox-hunting on themfelves, for the whip-
per-in has other buHnefs to attend on.*

I approve not of long drags In large covers ;
they give too great an advantage to the fox, they
give him a hint to make the befl of his way, and
he frequently will fet off a long while before you.
This may be prevented by throwing your hounds
into that part of the cover, in which he is mofl
likely to kennel : for want of this precaution, a
fox fometimes gets fo far the flart of hounds, that
they are not able to do any thing with him after-
wards. Alfo, when hounds iirll touch on a drag,
fome huntfmen are fo carelefs, that whilfl they
are going on with it the wrong way themfelves, a
Ungle hound the fox, and is not caught any more
by the pack, till he has loft him again.

Foxes are faid to go down the wind to their
kennel ; but, I believe, they do not always obferve
that rule.

Huntfmen, whilft their hounds, are drawing, or
are at a fault, frequently make fo nmch noife them-
felves, that they can hear nothing elfc : they

* Upon thefe occafions, when you fee two gentlemen to-
gether^ you may reafonably conclude that one of lUem, at leaft,
knows nothing of the matter.

ihould

23S THOITGHTS UPON HUNTING.

fliould always have an ear to a halloo. I once
faw an extraordinary inflance of the want of it
in my own huntlman, who was making fo much
noife with his hounds which were then at fault,
that a man hallooed a long while before he heard
him ; and when he did hear him, fo little did he
know whence the halloo came, that he rode two
miles the wrong way, and loft the fox.

When hounds approach a cover which it i^
intended they fhould draw, and dafh away to-
wards it, whippers-in ride after them to flop them.
It is too late, and they had better let them alone ;
it checks them in their drawing, and is of no kind
of uie ; it will be foon enough to begin to rate
when they have found, and hunt improper game :
when a huntfman has his hounds under good
command, and is attentive to them, they will not
break off till he choofe that they fhould. When he
goes by the fide of a cover which he does not in-
tend to draw, his ^^ hippers-in muft be in their
proper places ; for if he fhould ride up to a cover
with them unawcd, uncontrouled ; a coVer where
they have been ufed to find, they raufc be flack
indeed, if they do not dafh into it. It is for that
reafon better, not to come into a cover always the
fame way ; hounds, by not knowing what is go-
ing forward will be lefs likely to break off, and
will draw more quietly. I have feen hounds fo
fiafiiy, that they v/ould break away from the

huntfman

THOUGHTS UPON HUNTING. 239

huntfman as foon as they favv a cover ; and I have
leen the fame hounds Hop when the}^ got to the
cover lidcj and not go into it. It is want of proper
difcipline which occations faults Uke thefe. Hounds
that are under fuch command as never to leave
their huntfman till he encourage them to do it,
will be then fo confident, that they will not re-
turn to him again.

Were fox-hounds to flop, like flop-hounds, at
the fmack of a whip, they would not do their
bulinefs the worfe for it, and it would give you
many advantages very eflential to your fport ; —
fuch, as when they have to wait under a cover
lidc ; when they run riot ; when they change
fcents ; when a Angle hound is on before ; and
w^hen a fox is headed back into a cover. Hounds
that are not under good command fubje6l you to
many inconveniencies ; and you may, at times,
be obliged to go out of your way, or be made ta
draw a cover againfl your will. A famous pack
of hounds in my neighbourhood, I mean the late

Lord C n*s, had no fault but what had its rife

from bad management ; nor is it poffible to do
any thing with a pack of fox-hounds unlefs they
be obedient : they fhould both love and fear the
huntfman ; they fhould fear him much, yet they
fhould love him more. Without doubt hounds
would do more for the huntfman if they loved
him better. Dogs that are conflantly with their

m afters

^4"^ THOUGHTS UPON HUNTING.

mailers acquire a wonderful deal of penetratlort,
and much may be done through the medium of
their affections. I attribute the extraordinary fa-
gacity of the buck-hound to the manner in which
he is treated ; he is the conftant companion of his
inflrudlor and benefadlor; the man whom he was
iirfl taught to fear, and has lince learned to
love : ought we to wonder that he Ihould be obe-
dient to him ? Yet, who can view without fur-
prile the hounds and the deer amufing themfelves
familiarly together upon the fame lawn ; living,
as it were, in the moft friendly intercourie ; and
know that a word from the keeper will difTolve
the amity. The obedient dog, gentle when un-
provoked, flics to the well-known fummons; how
changed from what he was ! roufed from his
peaceful Hate, and cheered by his maflcr's voice,
he is now cheered on with a relentlefs fury that
only death can fatisfy — the death of the 'Very deer
he is encouraged to purfue ; and which the va-
rious fcents that crofs him in his way cannot
tempt him to forfake. The bulinefs of the day
over, fee him follow, carelefs and contented,
his maker's fteps to repofe upon the fame lawn,
where the frightened deer again return, and are
again indebted to h'ls courtefy for their wonted
paflure. Wonderful proofs of obedience, fagacity,
and penetration ! The many learned dogs and
learned horfes that fo frequently appear, and
afloniih the vulgar, fufficiently evince what edu-
cation

THOUGHTS UPON HUNTING. 24I

cation is capable of; and it is to education I mufl:
chiefly attribute the fliperior excellence of the
buck-hound, lince I have feen high-bred fox-
hounds do the fame under the fame good maf-
ters. But to return to my fubje6l.

Young foxes, that have been much difturbed,
will lie at ground. I once found feven or eight
in a cover, where the next day I could not find
one; nor were they to be found elfewherc : the
earths, at fuch time, fbould be flopped three or
four hours before day, or you vv^ill find no foxes.

The firft day you hunt a cover that is full of
foxes, and you want blood, let them not be
checked back into the cover, which is the ufual
pradlice at fuch times, but let fome of them get
off: if you do not, what with continual changing,
and fometimes running the heel, it is probable
that you will not kill any. Another precaution,
I think, may be alfo neceffary ; that is, to flop
fuch earths only as you cannot dig. If fome foxes
fhould go to ground it will be as well ; and if
you fhould be in want of blood at lafl, you will
then know where to £fet it.

to"

It is ufual, when people are not certain of the
fteadinefs of their hounds from deer, to find a
fox in an adjacent cover, that they may be on
their right fcent when they come where deer arc.

R I have

242 THOUGHTS UTON IIUNTlJJG.

I have my doubts of the propriety of this pro-
ceeding : if hounds have not been well awed
from deer, it is not fit that they at any rate fhould
come among them ; but if hounds be tolerably
lleady, I had rather find a fox with them amongft
deer, than bring them afterwards into covers
where deer are. By drawing amongil them, they
in fome degree will be awed from the fcent, and
poffibly may fliek to the fox when he is found ;
but fhould unlleady hounds, when high on their
mettle, run into a cover where deer are in plenty,
there is no doubt, that the firil: check they come
to they v\^ill all tall off. I always have found
hounds moft inclined to riot when moft upon
their mettle ; fuch as are given to fiieep will then
kill fheep ; and fuch as are not quite licady from
deer v/ill then be moll; likely to break off after
them. When hounds are encouraged on a iccnt,
if they lofe tliat fcent, it is then an unfteady
hound is ready for any kind of mifchief.

I have already fald, that a huntfrnan ought
never to flog a hound. Wiien a riotous hound,
confcious of his offence, may efeape from tlie
whipper-in, and fly to the huntfrnan, you v/ill
fee him put his whole pack into confufion by en-
deavourintr to chaflife him himfelf. This is the
height of abfurdity ! Inflead of flogging the hound
he ought to encourage him, who fhould always
have fome place to fly to for protc(flion. If the

offciic

rHOirGHTS UPON HUNTING* S43

offence be a bad one, let him get off his horfc
and couple up the dog, leaving him to be chaf-
tifed by the whipper-in, after he himfelf is gone
on with the pack : the punilliment over, let
him again encourage the hound to come to him.
Hounds that arc riotous in cover, and W'ill not
come off readily to the huntfman's halloo, fhould
be flogged in the cover rather than out of it ; — •
treated in this manner, you will not find any dif-
ficulty in getting your hounds off; otherwife, they
will foon find that the cover will lave them; from
whence they will have more fenfc, w^hen they
have committed an offence, than to come to re-
ceive punifhment. A favourite hound, that has
acquired a habit of ftaying back in large covers,
had better not be taken into them.

I have been more particular than I otherwife
fhould have been, upon a fuppohtion that your
hounds draw ill ; hovv^ever, you need not obferve
all the cautions I have given, unlefs your hounds
require them.

Some art may be neceffary to make the moil of
the country that you hunt. I would advife you not
to draw the covers near your houfe, while you can
find elfewhere; it wnll make them certain places to
find in when you go out late, or may otherwife be
in want of them. For the fame reafon, 1 would
advife you not to hunt thofe covers late in the fea--
R 2 fon ;

2,44 THOUGHTS UI'ON HUNTINO,

ion ; they fliould not be mucli difturbed aftef
Chrlllmas : foxes will then refort to them, will
breed there, and you can preierve them with little
trouble. This relates to the good management
of a pack of hounds, which is a bulinefs dillin6t
from hunting them.

Thou2:h a huntfman cudit to be as filent as
poffiblc at going into a cover, he cannot be too
noify at coming out of it again ; and if at any
time he Ihould turn back fuddenly, let him give
as much notice of it as he can to his hounds, or
he will leave many beliind him ; and ihould he
turn down the wind, he may ice no more of
ihem.

I fhotild be forry that the filence of my huntf-
man fliould proceed from either of the following
caufes. — A huntfman that I once knew, (who, by
the bye, I believe, is at this time a drummer in a
marching regiment) went out one morning lb very
drunk, that he got off his horfc in the midii of a
thick cover, laid himfelf down, and went to fleep:
— he was loft, nobody knew what was l)ecome of
]iim, and he was at laft found in the iitnation I
have juft defcribed. He had, however, great good
lutk on his lide, for at the very inftant he was
found a fox v,as hallooed; upon which he mounted
Iiis horfc, rode defpcrately, killed his fox hand-
fomely^ and was forgiven,

I re-

THOUGHTS UPON HUNTING. 245

I remember another huntfman lilcnt from a
different caufe; this was a falky one. Things
did not go on to pleafe him; he therefore alighted
from his horfe in the middle of a wood, and, as
quietly as he could, collc61ed his hounds about
liim ; he then took an opportunity, when tlie
coaft was clear, to fet of^' filcntly, and by him-
Iclf, for another cover : however his mafler, who
knew his tricks, lent others after him to bring
him back ; they found him running a fox mcfl
merrily, and, to his great aftonifhment, they
ftopped the hounds, and made him go back along
with them. This fellow had often been ieveroly
beaten, but \yas ftubborn and fulky to the iaft.

To give you an idea before I quit tiiis fubjecl,
how little (bme people know of fox-hunting, I
mutl: tell you, tliat not long ago a gentleman
afked me if I did not fend people out ihe day he^
fore to find where the foxes lay.

What relates to the calling of hpunds fliall be
tlie fubjedt of my next letter.

K 3 LET-

124^ YHOWGHTS UPON HUNTING^

LETTER XX.

TN my fevenieenth letter I gave the opinion of
my friend**** — " that a pack of fox-hounds,
^' if left entirely to themfelves, -would never lofe a
" fox^ I am always forry when I differ from that
gentleman in any thing ; yet I am fo far from
thinking they never would lofc a fox, that I doubt
much if they would ever kill one. There are times
when hounds fhould be helped, and at all times
they mull be kept forward ; hounds v/ill naturally
tie on a cold fcent when flopped by fheep or other
impediments ; and when they are no longer able
to get forward, will oftentimes hunt the old fcent
back again, if tliey find that they can hunt no
other. It is the judicious encouraging of hounds
to hunt Vvhen they cannot run, and the prevent-
ing them from lofmg time by hunting too much
when they might run, that diftinguifhes a good
fportfman from a bad one.* Hounds that have
been well tauHit will call forward to a hedjce of
their own accord ; but you may afliire yourfelf,
this excellence is never acquired by fuch as are

* In hunting a pack of hounds a proper medium fhould be
obfcrved; for though too much help vvill make them flack, too
li:tk will make them tie on the fcent and hunt back the heel.

Mi

TPIOUGHTS UPON HUNTING, 247

left entirely to themfelves. To fufler a pack of
fox-hounds to hunt through a flock of llicep,
when it is eafy to make a regular caft round
them, is, in my judgment, very unneceflary — it
is wilfully loling time to no purpofc. 1 have in-
deed been told, that hounds at no time fhould be
taken oft' their nofes : I fhall only fay, in anfwer
to this, that a fox-hound who will not bear lift-
ing is not worth the keeping ; and I will venture
to fay, it fhould be made part of his education.

Though I like to fee fox-hounds call wide and
forward, and diflike to fee them pick a cold fcent
through flocks of flieep to no purpofe, yet I mull
beg leave to obferve, that I diflike flill more to
fee that unaccountable hurry which huntfmen
will fometimes put themfelves into the moment
their hounds are at fault : time ought always to
be allowed them to make their own caft ; and if
a huntfman be judicious, he will take that op-
portunity to conflder what part he himfelf has
next to a(?t ; but, inflead of this, I have feen
hounds hurried away the very inflant they came
to a fault, a wide caft made, and the hounds at
la ft brou,^-ht back again to the very place from
whence they were fo abruptly taken ; and wherc,
if the huntfman could have had a minute s pa-
tience, they would have hit off the fcent them-
felves. It is always great impertinence in a huntf-
man to pretend to make/;/^ caft before the hounds

R 4 ^ii^vQ

24^ THOUGHTS UPON HUNTING,

have made their s. Prudence fhould dlre6l him
to encourage, and I may fay, humour his hounds
in the caft they fcem inchned to make; and either
to ftand ftill, or trot round with them, as cir-
cumitances may require.

I have feen huntfmen make their cafl on bad
ground when they might as ealily have made it
on good : I have i^tw tliem fufFer their hounds
to try in the midft of a flock of fheep, when
there was a hedge near, where they might have
been fure to take the fcent ; and I have feen a cafl
made with every hound at their horfc's heels.
When a hound tries for the fcent his nofe is to
the ground ; when a huntfman makes a caft his
eye fhould l^e on his hounds ; and when he fees
them fpread wide, and try as they ought, his caft
may then be quick.

When hounds are at fault, and the huntfman hal-
loos them off the line of the fcent, the whippers-iu
fmacking their whips and rating them after him,
if he fhould trot away with them, may they not
think that the bulinefs of the day is over ?— •
Hounds never, in my opinion, (unlefs in parti-
cular cafes, or when you go to a halloo) fhould
be taken entirely off their nofes ; but when lifted,
fhould be conftantly made to try as they go. Some
huntfmen have a dull, ftupid way of fpeaking to
their hounds ; at thefe times little fliould be faid,

and

THOUGHTS UPON HUNTING. 249

gnd that lliould have both meaning and expreflioa
in it.

When your huntfman makes a caft, I hope he
makes it perfe6l one way before he tries another,
g,s mueh time is loft in going backwards and for-
wards. You will lee huntfrnen, when a forward
cail does not fuececd, come flowly back again —
they fhould return as fail as they can.

When hounds are in fault, and it is probable
that the fox has headed back, your caft forward
fhould be fhort and quick, for the fcent is then
likely to be behind you; too obfiinate a perle-
verance forward has been the lofs of many foxes.
In heathy countries_, if there be many roads, foxes
will always run them in dry weather; when
hounds, therefore, over-run the fcent, if your
huntiman return to the firft crofs road, he, pro-
bably, will hit oiF the fcent again.

In large covers where there are fcveral roads ;
in bad fcenting days when thefe roads are dry ;
or, after a thaw, when they carry ; it is neceiTary
that your huntfman fhould be near to his hounds,
to help them and hold them forward. Foxes will
run the roads at thefe times, and hounds cannot
always own the fcent. When they are at fault on
a dry road, let not your hmitfrnan turn back too
foon, let him not ftop till lie can be certain that

the

^^O THOUGHTS UPON HUNTING.

the fox 15 not gone on ; the hounds fhould try
on both Udes the road at once : if he perceive
that they try on one fide only, let him try the
other;, on his return.

When hounds are running in cover, If a liuntf-
man fhonld fee a fox come into a road, and caiv.
not fee which way he turns afterward?, let him
i^and Hill, and fay nothing. If he ride on, he
mufl ride over the fcent ; and if he encourage
the hounds, they, moil probably, would run be-
yond it.

Wide ridings, cut through large woods, render

them lefs exceptionable to fportfmen than they
otherwife might be ; yet I do not think that they
are of fcrvice to hounds : — they are taught to
fhuffle ; and, the fox being frequently headed
back, they are put to many faults : — the roads are
foiled by the horfes, and the hounds often inter-
rupted by the horfemen : — fuch ridings only are
advantageous, as enable the fervants belonging
to the hounds to jret to them.

fcj"

If a fox fhould run up the wind, when firil
found, and afterwards turn, he wnll feldom, if
ever turn again. This obfervation may not only
be of ufe to your huntfman in his cafl, but may
be of ufe to yourfelf, if you Ihould lofe the
hounds.

THOUGHTS UPON HUNTING. H^t

When you arc purfliing a fox over a country,
the fcent being bad, and the [ox a long way be-
fore, without ever having been preifed, if his
point Ibould be for ftrong earths that are open,
or for large covers, where game is in plenty, it
may be acting wil'ely to take off the hounds at the
iirft fault; for the fox will go many miles to
your one, and probably will run you out of all
fcent ; and if he fhould not, you will be likely to
change at the firft cover you come into ; — when
a fox has been hard preffed, you have already my
opinion, that he never fhould be given up.

When you w ould recover a hunted fox, and
have no longer fcent to hunt him by, a long caft
to the firfi: cover which he feems to point for, is
the only refource that you have left : get thither
as faft as you can, and then let your hounds try
as flowly and as quietly as poliible : if hunting
after him be hopelefs, and a long caft do not fuc-
ceed, you had better give him up — I need not
remind you, wdien the fcent lies badly, and you
iind it impoffible tor hounds to run, that you had
better return home ; finee the next day may be
more favourable. It iuvcly is a great fault In
a huntfman to perfevere m bad v/eather, when
hounds cannot run ; and when there is not a pro-
bability of killing a fox.* Some there are, who,

* Though I would not go cur on a very wincjy day, yet a bad
fcenting {Jay is fometimes of lervice to a pack of fox-ho\]nds —
ihey acquire patience from it, and method of hur.ting.

after

^52 THOUGHTS UPON HUNTING.

after they have loft one fox for want of fcent to
hunt him by, will find another; this makes their
hounds flack, and fometimes vicious: it alfo
dilturbs the covers to no purpofe. Some fportf-
men are more lucky in their dnys than others.
If you hunt every other day, it is poffible they
may be all bad, and the intermediate days all
good ; an indifferent pack, therefore, by hunting
on good days, may kill foxqs without any merit ;
and a good pack, notwithfiianding all their ex-
ertions, may lofe foxes which they deferve to kill.
Had I a tiifficiency of hounds I would hunt on
every good day, and never on a bad one.*

A perfecb knowledge of his country certainly
is of great help to a huntfman : if your's, as yet,
fliould have it not, great allowance ought to be
made. The trotting away with hounds to make
a long and knowing cafi:, is a privilege which a
new huntfman cannot pretend to : an experienced
one may fafely fay, a fox has made for fucli
a cover, when he has known, perhaps, that nine

* On windy days, or fuch as are not likely to afford any fccnt
for hounds, it is better, I think, to fend them to be exercifed on
the turnpike road ; it will do them lefs harm than hunting with
them might do, and more good than if they were to remain
confined in their kenr>el; for though nothing makes hounds fa
handy, as taking them out often ; nothing inclines them fo
much to riot, as taking them out to hunt when there is little or
no fcent; and particularly on windy days, when they cannot
hear one another,

out

THOUGHTS UPON HUNTING. 25J

out of ten, with tlie wind in the fame quarter,
have conflantly gone thither.

In a country where there are large earths, a
fox that knows the country, and tries any of them,
feldom fails to try the reft. A huntlman may
take advantage of tliis ; they arc certain cafts, and
may help him to get nearer to his fox.

Great caution is neceffary when a fox runs into
a village : if he be hallooed there, get forward as
fait as 3'ou can. Foxes, when tired, will lie
down any where, and are often loft: by it. — A
wide caft is not the beft to recover a tired fox
with tired hounds ; — they fhould hunt him out^
inch by inchj though they are ever fo long about
it ; for the reafon I have juft given ; — fJiaJ he will
lie down any ivhere.

In chaees and forefts, where high fences are
made to preferve the coppices, I like to fee a
Imntfman put only a few hounds over, enough to
carry on the fcent, and get forward with the reft,
it is a proof that he knows his buftnefs.

A huntfman muft take care, where foxes are in
plent^% left he fhould run the heel ; for it fre-
quently happens, that hounds can run the wrong
way of the fcent better than they can the right,
>vhcn one is up the wind^ and the other down.

Fox-

254 THOUGHTS UPON JIUNTING.

Fox-hunters, I tliiuk, arc never guilty of the
fault of tr3ang up the wind, before they have tried
down ; I have known tlicni lofe foxes rather than
condefcend to try up the wind at all.

When a huntfman hears a halloo, and has five
or fiX couple of hounds along with him, the pack
not runningj let him get forward with thole which
he has ; when they are on the Icent, the others
vvill foon join them.

Let him lift his tail hounds, and get them for-
ward afler the refi ; it can do no hurt ; but let him
be cautious in hfting any hounds to get them for-
ward before the reji ; it always is dangerous, and
foxes are fometiraes loft by it.

When a fox runs his foil in cover, if you fuf-
fer all your hounds to hunt on the line of him,
they will foil the ground, and tire themfelvcs to
little purpofe. I have before told you, that your
huntfman, at fuch a time, may ftop the (ail
hounds, and throw them in at head. I am almofl
inclined to fay, it is the only time it fhould be
done. — ^Whilil hounds run Itrait, it cannot be of
any ufe, for they will get on fafler with the fcent,
than they would without it.

When hounds are hunting a cold ic.twi, and
point towards a cover, let a whipper-in get for-

war4

THOUGHTS UPON HUNTING. 2^5

ward to the oppofite lide cf it : fhould the fox
break before the hounds reach the cover, Hop
them, and get them nearer to him.

When a fox perlilis In running in a ftrong
cover, lies down often behind the hounds, and
they are flack in hunting him, let the huntf-
man get into the cover to them : it may make the
fox break, it may keep him olF his foil, or may
prevent the hounds from giving him up.

It is not often that flow huntfmen kill many
foxes ; they are a check upon their hounds, which
feldom kill a fox but with a higli fcent, when it
is out of their power to prevent it. What avails
it to be told which way the fox is gone, when he
is fo far before, that you cannot hunt him ? A
Newmarket boy, with a good underfianding and
a good voice, might be preferable, perhaps, to an
indifferent and llack buntfman ; he would prefs
on his hounds, while the fcent was good, and the

foxes he killed he would kill handfomely. ■

A perfect knowledge of the intricacies of hunting
is chiefly of ufe to flow huntfmen and bad
hounds ; fmce they more often ftand in need of
it. A6livity is the firft requifite in a huntfman to
a pack of fox-hounds ; a want of it no judgment
can make amends for ; while the moft difficult
of all his tmdertakings is the diftinguifliing be-
twixt different fcenl^, and knowing, with any*

certaintv,

1^6 THOITGHTS UPON HUNTING.

certainty, the fcent of his hunted fox. Much
ipeculation is here required ; — the length of time
hounds remain at fault ; — -difference of ground ;' —
change of weather ; — all thefe contribute to in-
creaie the difficult}'' ; and require a nicety of
judgment, and a precilion, much above the com-
prehenfioii of moit huntfmen.

When hounds are at fault, and cannot make
it out of themfelves, let theiirfl caft be quick ; th(2
fcent is then good, nor are the hounds likely to
go over it ; as the fcent gets worfe, the caft
fliould be flower, and be more cautioufly made.
This is an ellential part of hunting, and which,
I am forry to fay, few huntfmen attend to. I
wifh they would remember the following rules,
viz. that with a good fcent, their caft fliould be
^iiick ; with a bad fcent, /lozu ; — and that, when
their hounds are picking along a cold fcent, — ■
i/iej are not to cajl them at alh

When hounds are at fault, and ftaring about,
truiting entirely to their eyes, and to their cars 5
the making a cait with them, I apprehend, would
be to little purpofe. The iikeliefl place for them
to find the fcent, is where they left it ; and when
the fault is evidently in the dog, a forward caft is
lealt likely to recover the fcent.*

* Hounds know where they left the fcent, and if let alone
v,'ill try to recover it. Impatience in tiie huntfman, at fuch
times, feldom fails, in the end, to fpoil thf hounds.

2. When

THOUGHTS UPON HUNTING. 257

When hounds are making a regular caft, try-
ing for the fcent as they go, fufFer not your huntf-
man to fay a v/ord to them ; it cannot do any
good, and probably may make them go over
the fcent : nor fhould you faffer either ihe voice
or the whip of your whipper-in, to be now heard ;
his ufual roughnefs and feverity would ill fuit
the llillnefs and gentlenefs which are required at
a time like this.

When hounds come to a check, a huntfraan
fhould obferve the tail bounds; they are leail
likely to over-run the fcent, and he may fee by
them how far they brought it : in moft packs
there are fome hounds that will fliew the point
of the fox, and if attended to, will direcSb his caft:
when fuch hounds follow flowly and unwillingly,
he may be certain the reft of the pack are run-
ning; without a fcent.

When he cafts his hounds, let him not cafl
wide without reafon ; for of courfe it will take
more time. Huntfmen, in general, keep too for-
ward in their cafts ; or, as a failor would fay,
keep too long o?i one tack. They fhould en-
deavour to hit off the fcent by crofting the lihe
of it, — Tivo j^aralld lines, you hiozv, can never
meet.^

* By attending to this a huntfman cannot fail to make a good
caft, for if he obferve the peine of the fox, he may always crofs
upon the fcent of him.

S When

^5^ THOUGHTS UPON HUNTING.

When he goes to a halloo, let him be carsfiu
left his hounds run the heel, as much time is loft
by it. I once faw this miftake made by a fa^
moub huntfman : — after we had left a cover,
which we had been drawing, a difturbed fox was
feen to go into it ; he was hallooed, and we re-
turned. The huntfman, who never inquired
where the fox was feen, or on ivlnchfide the cover
he entered, threw his hounds in at random ; and^,
as it happened, on the oppofite ftde : they im-
mediately took the heel of him, broke cover, and
hunted the fcent back to his very kennek

Different countries require different cafts: fuch
huntfmen as have been ufed to a woodland, and
iiiclofed country, I have feen lofe time in an open
country, where wide caft'S arc always neccff'ary.

When you want to caft round a flock of fheep,
the whipper-in ought to drive them the other
way, left they fhould keep running on before
you.

A fox feldom goes over or under a gate when
he can avoid it.

Huntfmen are frequently very conceited, and
very obftinate. Oftentimes have I feen them,
when their hounds came to a check, turn dire6ily
back on feeing hounds at head which they had

no

Thoughts upon HUNTiNdi z^)

ho opinion of. They fuppofed the fox was gone
another way ; in which cafe Mr. Bayes's remark
in the Rehearfal always occurs to me, " that, if
^^ he Jhouldnot, what then becomes of their fuppofef*
Better, furely, would it be, to make a fhort caft
forward iirft; they then might be certain the hounds
were wrong, and of courfe could make their own
caft with greater confidence: — the advantage,
next to that of knowing whither the fox is gone,
is that of knowing, with certainty, whither he is
not,

Mofl huntfraen like to have all their hounds
turned after them, when they make a cafl: : I
wonder not at them for it, but I am always forry
when I fee it done ; for, till I find a huntfman
that is infallible, I Ihall continue to thiak the
more my hounds fpread, the better; as long as
they are within fight or hcu ving. it is fufficient. —
Many a time have I feen an obftinate hound hit
off the fcent, when an oblHnate huntiinan, by
calling the wrong way, has done all in his power
to prevent it. Two foxes I remember to have
feen killed, in one day, by fkirting hounds, whiiil
the huntfman was making his caft the contrary
way.

When hounds, running In cover, come into a
road, and horfes are on before, let the huntfman
hold them quickly on beyond where the horfes

S a have

l6o THOUGHTS UPON HUNTING.

liave been, trying the loppoUte fide as he goes
along : fhould the horlemen have been long
enough there to have headed back the fox, let
them then try back. Condemn mc not for fuffering
hounds to try hack when the fox has been headed
hack ; I recommend it at no other time.

When your hounds divide into many parts,
you had better go off with the fiY& fox that
breaks. The ground will foon get tainted, nor
will hounds like a cover where they are often
chaiiging.

If a cover be very large, and you have many
fcents, be not in a hurry to get your hounds to-
gether;— if your pack be numerous, let them run
feparate, only taking care that none get away en-
tirely from the rell ; by this means many foxes
will be equalf-y diftrcfi, the hounds will get to-
gether at laft, and one fox, at the leall, you may
cxpeft to kill.

The heading a fox back at firt^, if the cover be
not a large one, is oftentimes of fervice to hounds,
as' he will not fiop, and cannot go off unfeen. — -
When a fox has been hard run, I have known
it turn out otherwife ; and hounds, that would
ealily have killed him out of the cover, have left
him in it.

If

THOUGHTS UPON HUNTING. 26l

If it be not your intciillon that a fox iiiould
break, you fhould prevent him, I think, as much
as you can from comin-j at all oat of the cover:
for though you fhould head him back afterwards,
it moft probably would put the hounds to a fault :
when a pack of i'ox- hounds once leave a cover
after their game, they do not readily return to it
again.

When a ioi^ has been often headed back on
.one tide of a cover, and a huntiVnan knows there
is not any body on the other fide to halloo him,
'the firll fault his hounds come to, let him cafl
that way, left the fox fliould be gone oiF; and
if he be ftill in the cover, he may flill recover
him.

Suffer not your hunffman to take out a lame
hound. If any bt; tender-footed, he will tell you,
perhaps, that they will not mind it when th^)' are
out ; — probably they may not ; but how will they
Jdc on the next day ? A hound, not in condition
to run, cannot be of much fervice to the pack ;
and the taking him out at that time may occa-
iion him a long confinement afterwards: — put
it not to the trial. Should any fall lame while
they are out, leave them at the iirll houfc thati
you come to.

S3 I hav^

^

2^6:2 THOUGHTS UPON HUNTING.

r have feen huntfmen hunt their young hounds
in couples. "Let me beg of you not to fuffer it. I
know you would be forry to fee your hounds
hanging acrofs a hedge, grinning at each other,
perhaps in the very agonies of death : yet it is an
accident that often has happened ; and it is an
accident fo likely to happen, that I am furprifed
any man of common fenfe will run the rilk of it.
If ncceffary, I had much rather they fhould be
held in couples at the cover hde^ till the fox be
found.

The two principal things which a huntfman
has to attend to, are the keeping of his hounds
healthy and Jleady. The firft is attained by clcan-
linefs and proper food ; the latter, by putnng,
as feldom as polTible, any unfteady ones amongil
them.

At the beginning of the feafon let him be at-
tentive to get his hounds well in blood. As the
icafon advances, and foxes become flout, atten-
tion then fliould be had to keep them as vigorous
as poihble. — It is a great fault when hounds are
fuffered to become too high in flelh at the begin-
ning of the feafon, or too low afterwards.

When a fox is lofi, the huntfman on his return
)iome fhould examine into his ow« condii3, and en-
deavour to find in what he migrht have done bet-

ten

THOUGHTS UPON HUNTING. 263

ter ; he may by this means make the very lofs of
a fox of ufe to him.

Old tyeing hounds, and a hare-hunter turned
fox-hunter, are both as oontrary to the true fpirit
of fox-hunting, as any thing can poffibly be. —
One is continually bringing the pack back again ;
the other as conflantly does his befl to prevent
tiiem from getting forward. The natural preju-
dices of malikind are ilich, that a man feldora
alters his Ityle of hunting, let him purfue what
game he may ; betides, it may be conilitutional,
as he is himfelf flow or a6tive, dull or lively, pa^
tient or impatient ; it is for that reafon I objedt
to a hare-hunter for a pack of fox-hounds ; for
the lame ideas of hunting will moil probably flick
by him as long as he lives.

Your huntfman is an old man ; fhould he
have been working hard all his life on wrong
principles, he may be now incorrigible.

Sometimes you will meet with a good kennel
huntfman, fometiraes an a6live and judicious one
in the field ; Ibme are clever at finding a fox,
others are better after he is found; whilft per-
fedlion in a huntfman, like perfection in anything
elfe, is fcarccly ever to be met with : there are
not only good, bad, and indifferent huntfmen,
but there are perhaps a few others, who being as

S 4 it

264 THOUGHTS UPON HUNTING.

It were of a different fpecies, fhould be clafled
apart; — I mean, iuch as have real genius. It is
this peculiar excellence, which I told you in a
former letter, I would rather wifh my firft whip-
per-in to be poflelTed of than my huntfman ; and
one reafon among others, is, tliat he, I think,
would have more opportunities of exercifmg it.

The keepin<r hounds clean and healthy, and
bringing them into the field in their fuUeft vigour,
is the excellence of a good kennel huntfman :* if,
belides this, he makes his hounds both love and
fear him ; if lie be adVive, and prefs them on,
vvhilft the feent is good, always aiming to keep
as n^ar to (hi fox as he can ; if, when his hounds
are at fault, he make his caft with judgment, not
cafting the wrong way firil:, and only blunder-
ing upon the right at lafi as many do ; if, added

* To make the mod of a pack of hounds, and bring
them into the field in their fuUeft vigour, is an excellence that
huntimenare very deficient in. — To obtain a knowledge of the
different conftitutions of fo many animals, requires more difcern-
ment than moft huntfmen are endowed with. — To apply that
knowledge, by making feparate drafts when they feed them,
would alfo take up more time than they choofe to beftow ; hence
it is, that they generally are fed all together : — they may be well
fed, but I much doubt if they are ever made the mofi: of — fuch
as require to b" fed a little at a time, and often mufl, I believe,
be contented with a little only. — Few huntfmen feem fond of their
hounds; — one reafon of it, perhaps, may be, that they are paid
for looking after them.

^ to

THOUGHTS UrON HUNTING.. 20^

to tijis, he l)G patient and perfevcring, never
giving up a fox, whilll there remains a chance of
killing liiin, he then is a perfect huntfman.

Did I not know your love of this diverlion,
I fhould thinks by this time, that I muft have
tired you completely. You are not particular,
however, in your partiality to it ; for to flievv you
the efFetit which fox-hunting has on thofe who
are really fond of it, I mufl tell you what hap-
pened to me not long ago. -My hounds, ia

running a fox, croffed the great weltern road,
where I met a gentleman travelling on horfeback,
his fervant, with a portmanteau, following him.
He no iboner favv the hounds than he rode up to
me, witii the greateft eagernefs, '' Sir,'' faid he,
"- are you after a fox f*' — When I told him, we
were, he immediately ftuck fpurs to his liorfe,
took a monflrous leap, and never quitted us any
more, till the fox was killed. — I fuppofe, had I
faid, we were after a hare, my gentleman would
have purfued his journey.

LET-

^66 THOUGHTS F?ON HUNTrNG,

LETTER XXL

"X T'OUR bnntfman, you fay, has hunted a pack
Jk- of harriers. It might have been better, per-
haps, liad he never feen one, lincc fox-hunting
and hare-hunting differ alraoll in every particu-
Lir ; io much, that I think it might not be an
improper nefrative definition of fox-hunting to
fay it is of ^// hunting, that which refembles hare-
honting the leaft. A good huntfman to a pack
of harriers feldom fucceeds in fox-hunting ; like
old hounds they dvv'ell upon the Iccnt, and can-
not get forward ; nor do they ever make a bold
caft, lb much are they afraid of leaving the fcent
behind them. Hence it is that thev poke about and
try the fame place ten times over rather than they
will leave it ; and when they do, are totally at a
lois which way to go, for want of knowing the
nature of the animal they are in purfuit of As
hare-hounds fhould fcarccly ever be cafe, hallooed,
or taken off their nofes, hare-hunters arc too apt
t') hunt their fox-hounds in the fame manner ;
but it will not do, nor could it plcafc you if it v/ould.
Take away, the fpirit of fox-hunting, and it is no
longer fox-hunting; it is ftale fmall beer compared
lobriil^ichamDain. Yo-u would alfo find in it more

fatigue

THOITGHTS UPON HUNTING. li6^

fatigue than pleafure. It is faid, there is a fha^
Jiere in being mad which only madmen know ; and it
is the enthufiafm, I believe^ of fox-hunting which
is its befl fupporl ; ilrip it of that, and you had
better leave it quite alone.

The hounds themfelves alfo differ in their man-
ner of hunting : the'^beagle, who has always his
nofe to the ground, will puzzle an hour on one
fpot fooner than he will leave the fcent ; while
the fox-hound, full of life and fpirit, is always
dafhing and trying forward. A high-bred fox-
hound, therefore, fhews himfelf to inoft advan-
tage when foxes are at their Urongefl and run an
end. A pack of harriers will kill a cub better,
perhaps, than a pack of fox-hounds; but when
foxes are ftrong, they have not the method of get-
ting on with the fcent which fox-hounds have,
and generally tire themfelves before the fox. To
kill foxes when they are lirong, hounds muft run
as well as hunt ; befides, catching a fox by hard
running is always preferred in the opinion of a
fox'hunter. Much depends, in my opinion, on
•the fl:34e in which it is done ; and I think, with-
out being fophiftical, a diftin61:ion might be made
betwixt huntino; a fox and fox-huntinof. Two
hackneys become not racers by running round a
courfe, nor does the mere hunting of a fox change
the nature of the harrier. I have alfo feen a hare
hunted by high-bred fox-iiounds ; yet, I confefs

to

.268 THOUGHTS UPON HUNTING.

to you, it gave me not the Icart idea of what
Jiare-bunting ought to be. Certain ideas are ne-^
ceffarily annexed to certain words ; this is the ufe
pf language; and when a tbx-hound is mentioned,
I Ihould expect not only a particular kind of
bound;, as to njake, lize, and llrength, by which
the fox-hound is cafy to be diftinguiilied : but I
ihould alfo expecl by fox-hunting, a lively, ani-
mated, and eager purfuit, as the very eflence of
it.* Eagernefs and impetuoiity are fuch eflential
parts of this divcrlion, that I am never more lur-
prifed than when 1 fee a ibx-hunt. r witl-iout them.
One hold hard^ or reproof imnecejfanly given,
would chill me more than a north-eafl wind ; it
v/ould damp my fpirits and fend me home. The
cnthuiiafm of a fox-hunter fhoukl not be checked
in its career, for it is the very life and foul of
foxhunting. If it be the eagernefs with which
vou purfue your game that makes the chief plea-
sure of the chace, fox-hunting furely fhould af-
ford the greateft degree of it, fince you purfue
no animal with tiie lanie eagernefs that you pur-
fue a fox.

* The fix foUowiiig lines may have a dangerous tendency.
Only, a good fportfman can know when a reproof is given im-
necejfarily^ and only a bad one ^^'ill be defcn'ing of reproof.
This pafTage, therefore, fliould be compared with pages 149,
187, 189, 204, where the meaning of the author is very clearly
expreili>d.

Knov/ipg

THOtTGHTS UPON KuNTING. 26g

Knowing your ]:artlaUty to hounds that run in
a good ftyle, 1 advife you to obferve flriclly your
own when a fox is linking in a lirong cover ; that
is the time to fee the true fpirit of a fox-hound.
If they fpread not the cover, but run tamely on
the line of one another^ I fhall fear it is a fort
that will not pleale you long. A fox-hound that
has not fpirit and ambition to gel forward at a
time like this, is at no other likely to do much
good.

You talked in your lail letter of pretty hounds ;
certainly I fhould not pretend to criticife others,
who am fo incorred: myfelf; yet, with 3'our leave,
I think I can fet you right in that particular.—
Pretty is an epithet improperly applied to a fox-
hound : we call a fox-hound handfome when he
is Ih'ong, bony, of a proper lize, and of exact
fymmetry ; and iilnefs is made eiiential to beauty.
A beagle may be pretty, but, according to my
idea of the word, a fox-hound cannot : but as it
is not to be fuppofed that you will keep a pack
of fox-hounds for the pleafure of looking at them,
without doubt you will think goodnefs more ne-
ceflary than beauty. Should you be ambitious to
have a handfome pack of hounds^ on no account
ought you to enter an ugly dog, left you be
tempted to keep him afterwards.

I once

270 THOUGHTS •u¥dN HUNTING-

I once heard an old Iportfman fay, that he
thought a fox, to Ihevv fport, fhould run four
hours at leafl ; and, I fuppofe, he did not care
how flow his hounds went after him. This idea,
however, is not conceived in the true fpirit of fox-
hunting, which is not to walk down a fox, or
ilarve him to death, but to keep clofe at him, and
kill him as loon as you can. I am convinced a
fox-hound may hunt too much ; if tender-nofed,
and not over-hurried, he will alway-s^hunt enough;
whihl the higheft-bred hounds may be made to
tye upon the fcent by improper management.*

It is youth and good fpirits which beft fuit with
fox-hunting ; flacknefs in the men occafions
ilacknefs in the hounds ; and one may fee by the
manner in which hounds hunt what kind of men
they have been accuftomed to. The fpeedicll
hounds ma}'', by degrees, be rendered flow ; and
it is impoflible for the befl. to do their buflnefs as
they ought unlcfs followed with life and ijDirit.
Men who are flack themfelves will be always
afraid of hurrying their hounds too much ;
and by carrying this humour too far, will commit
a fault which has nothing to excufe it. The befl:
method to hunt a fox, they fay, is never upon

* It more frequently is owing, either to want of patience,
or want of mettle, than to waui of nofe, that a hound does not
hunt well.

an/

THOUGHTS UPON HUNTING. 269

any account to caft the hounds ; but, on the con-
trary, to let them tye upon the Icent as long as
they will, and that they will hit it off at laft. I
agree with them partly; — it certainly mufl be the
beft method to hunt a fox, for by this means you
may hunt him from morning till night ; and, if you
have the luck to find him, may hunt him again
the next day — the likeliell method, however, to
kill him, is to take every advantage of him tliat
you can.

All hounds go fatl enough with a good fcent ;
but it is the particular excellence of a fox-hound,
when rightly managed, to get on fafter with an
indifferent fcent than any other hound :* it is the
bufinefs of a huntfman to encourage this ; ami
here, moji prohahly, the hare-hunter will fall. He
has been ufed to take his time ; he has enjoyed a
cold fcent like a Ibuthern hound ; and has fitteu
patiently upon his horfe to fee his hounds hunt.
It is, to be fare, very pretty to fee ; and v/hen
you confider that the hare is all the time, per-
haps, within a few yards of you, and may leap
up the next minute, you are perfe(9:ly contented
with what you are about ; but it is not fo in fox-
hunting : every minute that you lofe is precious,
and increafes your difficulties ; and while you

* It is a quick method of hunting that I moflly value in
any hound ; I'uch as are polTefled of it are feldom long oif the
fcent ; it is the reverfe of flacknels,

I arc

2'-2 ItiOUGUTS UPON HUNTING.

are ftanding ftill the fox is rtinning miles. It is 3
fatisfaclioii to a hare-hunter to be told where his
game was feen, though a long wliile before ; but
it is melancholy news to a fox-hunter, whole
game is not hkely to Hop. I believe I mentioned
to you, in a former letter on hare hunting, a
great fault which I had obfervcd in fomc harriers
from beins let too much alone — that of riinuin^
l^ack the heel. — I have feen a pack of high-bred
fox-hounds do the fame, for the fame rcafons.

When hounds flag from frequent changes, and
a long day, it is neceflliry for a huntfman to ani-
mate them as much as he can ; he mufl keep
them forward and prefs them on, for it is not
likely, in this cafe, that they fliould over-run the
fccnt ; at thefe times the whole work is generally
done by a few hounds, and he fhould keep clofe
to them : here I alfo fear thai the hare-hunter will
fail :* if they come to a long fault it is over, and
you had better then go home.

The

* It is at a time like this that good fportfmen may be of great
fervice to hounds; it is the onty time that they want encourage-
ment, and it is (I am forry to fay) ahnoft the only time that they
do not receive it. Thofe who ride too forward in the morn-
ing will in the evening, perhaps, be too far behind, and thereby
lofe an opportunity that is offered them of making fome amends
for the mifchiefs they have already done. When hounds flag
from frequent changes, and the huntfman's horfe finks under
the fatigue of a tirefome day, then it is that fportfinen may

ainii

t-KOtJGHTS UPON HUNTING. 2^^

The many chances that are againfl you in fox-
liunthig ; the changing frequently ; the heading
of the foxes ; their being courfed by fheep-dogs ;
long faults; cold hunting i and the dying away
of the fcent ; make it neceffary to keep always as
near to the fox as you can ; which fhould be the
lirft and invariable principle of fox-hunting.
Long days do great hurt to a pack of fox-hounds.
I fat out one day lall winter from the kennel at
half pafl leven, .and returned home a quarter be-
fore eight at night, the hounds running hard the
greateil part of the time. The huntfman killed
one horfe, and tired another, and the hounds did
not recover for more than a week : we took
them off at laft when they were running with a
better fcent than they had had the whole day.* — I
alfo remember, after it was dark, to have heard
a better view halloo from an owl, than I ever
heard from a fportfman in my life, though I hope
that I fhall never hear fuch another. A long

afiift them ; fuch as know the hounds fhould then ride up to
them ; they fliould endeavour, by great encouragement, to keep
them ru7inhig^ and get thofe forward that may be behind ; for
•when hounds that are tired once come to hmtlng, they tie upon
the fcent, and by lofing time lofe every chance they had of
killing the fox-^great encouragement, and proper and timely
affiflance only can prevent it.

* Hounds, after every hard day, lliould have two clear days
to reft ; it does them lefs hurt to hunt two days following when
their wort is eafy, than to hunt before they may be perfeftly
recovered after having been hard run.

T day.

2^74 THOUGHTS UPON HUNTING.

day, nevertheleis, once or tvAce in a fcaibn, is of
ufe to a huntfman ; it flu
Houtnefs of his hounds.

ufe to a huntfman ; it fliews the real jjoodnefs ancJ

When long days happen to hounds that are
low in fiefh, nothing will get them up again fa
efFe6lually as reft; it is for this reafon hounds that
are kept conftantly hunted ought always to be, as
fportfmen call it, ahoi-e their ivoj-k. If your
hounds, either from accident or inattention, Ihould
ever be in the low condition here alluded to, be
not impatient to get them out of it ; fhould you
feed them high w'lihflejli, the' mange, moft pro-
bably, would be the immediate eonfequencc of
it : it is reft and wholelbme meat that will re-
cover them beft. It will lurprife you to fee how
fpon a dog becomes cither fat or lean ; a little pa-
tience, therefore, and fome attention, will always
enable you to get your hounds into proper con-
dition ; and I am certi^in, that you can receive
no pleafure in hunting with them, if they be
not.

I forgot. In my letter upon the feeding of
hounds, to obferve that fuch hounds as have the
mange actually upon them, or only a tendency
towards it, fhould be fed feparately from the reft.
They Ihould have no fiefli ; their meat fliould be
mixed up rather thin than tliick; and they fhould

hava

tttOUGHTS UPON HUNTING, 275

have vegetables in great plenty.* I muft alfo add,
that if my hounds return from hunting earlier
than they were expeded, I now order them to
be Ihut up in the lodging room till their meat be
made ready for them. Hounds never refl contented
till they have been fed ; nor will they remahi
upon their benches unlefs they be confined ; yet,
without doubt, lying upon the pavement, or even
ilanding out in the cold, after violent exercife,
mull be prejudicial to them.

I am glad to hear that your huntfman knows
the country which he is to hunt ; nothing in
fox-hunting is more effential than that ; and it
may make amends for many faults. Foxes are not
capricious, they know very well what they are
about ; are quick, I believe, at determining, and
refolute in perfevering : they generally have a.
point to go to, and, though headed and turned di-
re6tly from it, feldom fail to make it good at lafl ;
this, therefore, is a great help to an obferving
huntfman.

Suffer not your huntfinan io encourage his
hounds too much on a bad fcenting day, particu-
larly in covers where there is much riot. Hark,Hark,
Hark, which injudicious huntfmcn are fo fond of

* Sulphur made into a ball with butter, or hog's lard, and
given two or three mornings following, may alfo be neceflary.

T a upon

276 TllOiJClirS UPON HUKTIHG,

upon every occaiion, muft often do mifchiof, an<3
cannot do good; whilit hounds are near togetheiv
Ihey will get fooner to the hound that challenges
without that noife than with it : if it be a right
fcent, they will be ready enough to join; and it it
be a wrong one^ provided they be let alone, they
will foon leave it. Injudicious encouragement,
on a bad day, might make them run fomcthing
©r other, right or ^^■rcng.

I know of no fault fo bad in a hound as that
of running falfe ; it fhould never be forgiven :
fuch as are not flout, or are ftifF nofcd, or have
other faults, may at times do good, and at their
word may do no harm ; but fuch as run falfe
mofl: probably will fpoil your fport. A hound
capable of fpoiling one day's fport is fcarcely
worth your keeping. Indifferent ones, fuch as
I have above defcribed, may be kept till you have
better to fupply their places.

A huntfman fhould know how to marfhal every
hound in his pack, giving to each his proper rank
and precedence ; for, without this knowledge, it
is not poffible he fhould make a large draft as he
ought. There are, in moil packs, fome hounds
that aflifl but little in killing the fox, and it is
the judicious drafting off of fuch hounds that is
a certain fign of a good huntfman.

My

THOUGHTS UPON HUNTING. 277

My huntfraan is very exadl ; he carries always
a lift of his hounds in his pocket, and when in a
diftant country', he looks it over to fee if any of
them be miffing. He has alfo a book, in which
he keeps a regular account where every fox is
found, and where he is killed.

Your huntftnan, you fay, knows perfe6rly the
country he has to hunt ; let him then acquire as
perfect a knowledge of his hounds : good fenfe
and obfervation will do the reft, at leaft will do
as much as you feem to require of him ; for I am
glad to find that you had rather depend upon the
goodnefs of your hounds for fport than the genius
of your huntfman. It is, I believe, a much furer
dependance.

Ta LET

2,78 THOUGHTS UPON HUNTING^

LETTER XXir.

ARE not 5^our expectations fomewhat too fan-
guine, when you think that you fliall have
no occalion for bag-foxes to keep your hounds in
blood the firil feafon ? It may be as well, per-
haps, not to turn them all out till you can be
more certain that your young pack will keep good
and fieady without them. When blood is much
wanted, and they arc tired with a hard day, one
of thefe foxes will put them into fpirits, and
give them, as it were, new llrength and vigour.

You dcfire to know what I call hei?ig out of
hloodP In anfwer to which, I mufl tell you,
that, in my judgment, no fox-hound can fail of
killing more than three or four times following,
without being vilibly the worfe for it. When
hounds arc out of blood, there is a kind of evil
genius attending all they do; and though they
may fcem to hunt as well as ever, they do not
get forward; whilil a pack of fox-hounds, well
in blood, like troops flufhed with conquefl, are
not eafily withftood. What we call ill luck, day
after day, when hounds kill no foxes, may fre-
quently, I think, be traced to another caufe,

2 namely.

THOUGHTS UPON HUNTING. 279

namely, ihe'ir heivg out of hlood-y nor can there
be any other realbn affigncd why hounds, which
we know to be good, lliould remain fo long as
they fometimes do without killing a fox.* Large
packs are leall lubje^t to this inconvenience :
hounds that are quite frefli, and in high fpirits,
leaft feel the want of blood. The fmallefl packs
therefore fliould be able to leave at Icaft ten or
twelve couple of hounds behind them, to be
frefh againft the next hunting day. If your
hounds be much out of blood, give them reft:
take this opportunity to hunt with other hounds,
to fee how they are managed, to obferve what
flallion hounds they have, and to judge yourfelf,
whether they be fach as it is fit for you to breed
from. If what I have now recommended fhould
not fucceed, if a little reft and a fine morning do
not put your hounds into blood again, I know of
nothing; elfe that will ; and you muft attribute
your ill fuccefs, I fear, to another caufe.

You fay, you generally hunt at a late hour :
after a tolerably good run, try not to find another
fox. Should you be long in finding, and fliould
you not have fuccefs afterwards, it will hurt
your hounds: fhould you try a long time, and

* A pack of hounds that had been a month without killing a
fox, at lafl ran one to ground, which they dug, and killed upon
the earth: the next feveu days they hunted they killed a io^ each
day.

T 4 not

a80 THOUGHTS UPON HUNTING,

not find, that alfo will make them flack. Never
try to find a fox after one o'clock ; you had bet-
ter return home, and hunt again on the next
day. Not that I, in general, approve of hunt^
ing two days following with the fame hounds:
the trying fo many hours in vain, and the being
kept fo long off their food, both contribute to
make them flack, and nothing furely is more con-»
trary to the true fpirit of fox-hiuiling; for foX'
hounds, I have already faid, ought always to be
above their work. This is another particular, \x\
■which hare-hunting and fox-hunting totally dif-
fer; for harriers cannot be hunted too mucl), as
long as they are able to hunt at all. The flower
they go, the lefs likely they will be to over-run
the fcent, and the fooner, in all probability, will
they kill their game. I have a friend, who
hunted his five days following, and afTured me,
that he had better fport with them the laft day
than the firfl.

I remember to have heard that a certain pack
of fox-hounds, fince become famous, were many
weeks, from a mixture of indifferent hounds, bad
management, and worfe luck, without killing a
fox. However, they killed one at lafl, and
tried to find another. They found him — and
they lofl him— and we^ then, as you may well
fuppofe, a month without killing another fox.

This

THOUGHTS UPON HUNTING. 2%l

This was ill judged; they lliould have returned
liome immediately.

When hounds are much out of blood, feme
men proceed in a method that muft neceffarily
keep them To : they hunt them every day ; as if
tiring them out were a means to give them
ilrength and fpirit : this, however, proceeds more
from ill- nature and refentment than found judg-
ment.* As I know your temper to be the re-
verfe, virithout doubt you will adopt a different
method ; and, fhould your hounds ever be in the
ftate here dcfcribed, you will keep them frefli
for the iirft fine day; when, fappofing them to
be all perfedly fleady, I do not queflion that they
will kill their fox.

When hounds are in want of blood, give them
every advantage: go out early; choofe a good
quiet morning; and throw off your hounds where
they are likely to find, and are leaft likely to
change: if it be a fmall cover, or furze-brake,
and you can keep the fox in, it is right to do it ;
for the fooner that you kill him, when you are m
want of blood, the better for the hounds.

* It is not the want of blood only that is prejudicial to hounds,
the trying long in vain to recover a lofl fcent no lefs contributes
tp make them flack.

When

dQZ THOUGHTS UPON HUNTING,'

When hounds arc in want of blood, and yoif
get a fox into a fmall cover, it mull be your own
fault, if you do not kill him there : place your
people properly, and he cannot get off again.
You will hear, perhaps, that it is impoffible to
head back a fox. No animal is fo fhy, confc-
quently, no animal is fo eafily headed back by
ihofe who underftand it. When it is your inten-
tion to check a fox, your people mud keep at a
little dirtance from the cover lide, nor fhould
they be fparing of their voices ; for, lince you
cannot keep him in, if he be determined to come
out, prevent him, if you can, from being fo in-
clined. All kind of mobbing is allowable, when
hounds arc out of blood ;* and you may keep
the fox in cover, or let him out, as you think
the hounds will manage him heft,

Thoufih I am fo great an advocate for blood as
to judge it ncceffary to a pack of fox-hounds,
yet I by no means approve of it, fo far as it is
Ibmetimes carried. I have known three young
foxes chopped in a furze-brake in one day, with-
out any fport ; a wanton deftru6iion of foxes
fcarcely anfvvering the purpofe of blood, iince
that blood does hounds mofl good which is moft
dearly earned. Such fportfmen richly deferve

♦ Yet how many foxes owe their lives to the too great eager*
nefs of tlieir purfuers.

blank

THOUGHTS UPON HUNTING. 283

blank, days; and, without doubt, they often meet
with them. Mobbing a fox, indeed, is only al-
lowable when hounds are not hkely to be a
match for him without it. One would almoil
be indined to think blood as neceiFary to the men
as to the hounds, iince the bell chacc is flat, un-
lefs you kill the fox. When you alk a fox-hunteu
what fport he has had, and he replies, it was
good^ I think the next quefiion generally is, Did
your hounds kill? If he fhould lay they did 7iot,
the converfation ends ; but if, on the contrary,
he tell you that they did, you then aik a hundred
queftions, and feldom are fatisfied, till he has re-
lated every particular of the chace.

When there is fnow on the ground, foxes will
lie at earth.* Should your hounds be in want of
blood, it will at that time be eafy to dig one to
turn out before them, when the weather breaks;
but I feera to have forgotten a new do6\rlne
which I lately heard, that blood is not neceflary
to a pack of fox-hounds. If yoii alfo Ihould
have taken up that opinion, I have only to wifli,
that the goodnefs of your hounds may prevent

* Earths Ihould be watched when there is fiiow upon the
ground, for foxes then will lie at earth. Thofe who are in-
clined to deftroy them can track them in, and may dig thera
out.

you

284 THOUGHTS UPON HUNTING.

you from changing it, or from knowing how faj?
it may be erroneous.*

Before you have been long a fox-hunter, I ex-
pe6l to hear you talk of the ill luck which fo fre-
quently attends this diverfion. I can afilire you
it has provoked me often, and has made e'^jen a
far-Jon /wear. It was but the other day we expe-
rienced an extraordinary inftance of it. We
found, at the fame inflant, a brace of foxes in
the fame cover, and they both broke at the oppo-
lite ends of it ; the hounds foon got together, and
went off very well with one of them ; yet, not-
with landing this, fuch was our ill luck, that,
though the hunted fox took a circle of feveral
miles, he, at latt, croffed the line of the other
fox, the heel of which we hunted back to the
cover from whence we came : it is true, we per-
ceived that our fccnt worfted, and were going to
flop the hounds ; but the going off of a white
froft deceived us alfo in that.

Many a fox have I known loft, by running
into houfes and ftables. It is not long lince my
hounds loll one, when hunting in the New Fo-

* Thofe who can fuppofe the killing of a fox to be of no
fervice to a pack of fox -hounds, may fuppofe, perhaps, that it

iloes them hurt. It is going but one flep further.

reft:

THOUGHTS UPON HUNTING. 2S5

Itefl : after having tried the country round, they
had given him up, and were gotten home ; when
in rode a farmer, full gallop, with news of the
fox : he had found him, he faid, in his flable,
and had iTiut him in. The hounds returned;
the fox, however, ilood but a little while, as he
was quite run np before.

Some years ago, my hounds running a fox
acrofs an open country, in a thick fog, the fox
Icarcely out of view, three of the leading hounds
difappcared all of a fudden, and the whipper-in,
luckily, was near enough to fee it happen. They
fell into a dry well, near an hundred icdi deep :
they and the fox remained there together till the
next day ; when, wi'h the greateft difficulty, we
got them all four out.

Another time, having run a fox a burft of an
hour and quarter, the fevereft I ever remember,
the hounds, at lafr, got up to him by the fide of
a river, where he had llaid for them. One
hound feizcd him as he v/as fwimming acrofs,
dnd they both went down together. The hound
came up again, but the fox appeared no more.
By means of a boat and a long pole we got the
fox out. Had he not been i^^w to link, he
would hardly have been tried for under water,
and, without doubt, we fliould have wondered
what had become of him.

Now

2S(j THOUGHTS UPON HUNTING^

Now we are in the chapter of accidents, 1
mnft mention another, that lately happened to
me on croffing a river, to draw a cover on the
other fide of it. The river Stovver frequently
overflows its banks, and is alfo very rapid and
very dangerous. Tlie flood that morning, tho*
fudden, was extenfive. The neighbouring mea-
dows were all laid under water, and only the tops
of the hedges appeared. There were polls to di-
re(5l us to the bridge, but we had a great length
of water to pals before we could get at it ; it was,
befides, fo deep tliat our horfes almoft fwam,
and the lliorteil: legged horfes and longeft legged
riders were worft oft". The hounds dafhed in as
iifual, and were immediately carried by the rapi-
dity of the current, a long way down the flream.
The huntfman was liir behind them; and as he
could advance but flowly, he was conftrained to
fee his hovmds wear themfelves out in an ufelefs
contention with the current, from their efforts to
get to him. It was a fhocking fcene ! many of
the hounds, when they reached the fhore, had
entirely lofl the ufe of their limbs, for it froze
and the cold was intolerable. Some lay as if
they were dead, and others reeled, as if they had
been drinking wine. Our ill luck was not yet
complete ; the weakefc hounds, or fuch as were
moft afFedled by the cold, we now faw entangled
in the tops of the hedges, and heard their lamen-
tations. Well-known tongues! and fuch as I

had

TfiOtGHTS UPON HUNTING. 287

Bad never before heard without pleafure. It was
painful to fee their diftrefs, and not know how ia
relieve it. A number of people, by tlils time,
were afTembled near the river lide, but there was
not one amongft them that would venture in.
However, a guinea, at lafi:, tempted one man to
fetch out a hound that was entangled in a bufl),
and would otherwife have perifhed. Two hounds
remained upon a hedge all night, and though at
a conliderable ditlance from each other when
we left them, yet they got together afterwards,
and the next morning, w^hen the flood abated,
they were found clofcly clafping each other r
without doubt; it was the friendly warmth they
afforded each other that kept both alive. We
loll but one hound by this unlucky expedition,
but could not favc any of our terriers. They
were feen to fink, their flrength not being fuffi-
cient to refifl the two enemies they had to en-
counter, powerful, when combined — the feverity
of the cold, and the rapidity of the ftream.

You afk, at what time you fhould leave ofF
hunting ? It is a queftion which I know no!
how to anfvver, as it depends as much on the
quantity of game that you have, as on the coun-
try that you hunt. However, in my opinion, no
good counti-y fhould be hunted after February ;
nor fhould there be any hunting at all after
March, Spring hunting is lad dedruction of

foxes :

USS THOUGHTS UPON HUNTING,

foxes : in one week you may deltroy as many a{>
would liave fhewn you fport for a whole feafon.
We killed a bitch-fox one morning, with feven
Touno; ones, which were all alive : I can afiure
you we miffed them very much the next year, and
had many blank days, which we needed not to
have had, but through our own fault. I fhould
tell you, this notable feat was performed, lite-
rally, on the Jifji of j4pnL If you will hunt
late in the feafon, you fhould, at leaft, leave
your terriers behind you. I hate to kill any ani-
mal out of feafon. A hen-pheafant, with egg, I
have heard, is famous eating; yet I can affure
you I never mean to tafte it ; and the hunting a
bitch-fox, big with young, appears to me cruel
and unnatural. A gentleman of my acquaint-
ance, who killed moH of his foxes at this feafon,
was humoroufly called, midwife io the foxes.

Arc not the foxes heads, which are fo pom-
poufly expofcd to view, often prejudicial to fport
in fox-hunting ? How many foxes are wantonly
deitroyed, without the leafl fervice to the hounds
or fport to the mafter, that the huntfman may fay
he has killed" fo many brace ! How many are
digged out and killed, when blood is not wanted,
for no better reafon ! — foxes that another day,
perhaps, the earths well ftoppcd, might have run
hours, and died gallantly at Lift. I remember
myfelf to have fecn a pack of hounds kill three

in

THOUGHTS TjrON HUNTING. 289

in one day ; and though the laft ran to ground,
and the hounds had killed two before, therefore
''could not be fuppofed to be in want of blood,
the fox was digged out and killed upon the earth.
However, it anfwercd one purpole you vvd-'KI
little expert — it put a clerg}'man pvefent ia iL.rd
that he had a corpfe to hmy, which otherwife had
been forgotten.

I fhould have lefs objedllon to the number of
foxes heads that are to be {ccn againil every ken-
nel door, did it afcertain v/ith more preciiion the
goodnefs of the hounds ; which may more juiily
be known from the few foxes they lofe than from
the number that they LiU. When you inquire
after a pack of fox-hounds, whether they be good
or not, and are toid they feldoui xniis ;' fox. your
mind is perfectly fatisfied about them, anc' \o\i
inquire no farther : it is not always fo, when you
are told the number of foxes they have killed.
If you alk a Frenchman what age he is of, he
will tell you that he is in good health. — In like
manner, when I am alked how many brace of
foxes my hounds have killed, I feel myfelf in-
clined to fay the hounds are good; an anfwer
which, in my opinion, goes more immediately to
the fpirit of the queflion than any other that I
could give ; lince the number of foxes heads is,
at befl-, but a prefumptive proof of the goodnefs
of the hounds. In a country neighbouring to

U n?inc

290 THOUGHTS UPON HUNTINO.

mine foxes are difficult to be killed, and not eafy
to be found ; and the gentlemen who hunt that
country are very well contented when they kill
a dozen brace of foxes in a feafon. My hounds
kill double that number ; ought it to be inferred
from thence that they are twice as good ?

All countries are not equally fivourable to
hounds : I hunt in three, all as different as it is
poffible to be ; and the fame hounds that behave
well in one, fomctimes appear to behave indif-
ferently in another. Were the molt famous pack,
therefore, to change their good country for the
bad one I here allude to, though, without doubt,
they would behave well, they certainly would
meet with lefs fucccfs than they are at pre fen t ufed
to : our cold flinty hills would foon convince
them, that the difference of ftrength betweien
one fox and another — the difference of goodnefs
betwixt one hound and another — are yet but
trifie?^, when compared with the more material
difference of a good fccntlng country and a bad
one.*

I can

* Great Inequality of {cent is very unfavourable to h-ounds.
In heathy coiniirifs the fcent always lies, yet I have remarked
that the many roads that crofs them, and the many inclofures
of poor land that rurround them, render hunting in fuch coun-'
tries at times very difficult to houndc ; the fudden change from
a good fccnt to a bad one pu/.zlei tlicir uofes and cianfufes their

^nder«

THOUGHTS irPdN HUNTING. 2^1

I can hardly think you ferious when you alk
me, if the fame hounds can hunt both hare atid
fox ; however, thus far you may aflure yourfelf,
that it cannot be done with any degree of con-
liftency. As to your other queftion of hunting
the hounds yourfelf, that is an undertaking which,
if you will follow my advice, you v/ill let alone.
It is your opinion, I find, that a gentleman might
make the belt huntfman ; I have no doubt that
he would, if he chofe the trouble of it. I do
not think there is any profeffion, trade, or occu-
pation, to which a good education would not be
of fervice ; and hunting, notvvithflanding it is at
prefent exercifed by fuch as have not had an edu-
cation, might, without doubt, be carried on
much better by thofe that have. I will venture
to fay, fewer faults would then be committed ;
nor would the lame faults be committed over
and over again as they now are. Huntfmen never
reaibn l)y analogy, nor are they much benefited
by experience. ,

Having told you, in a former letter, v/hat a
huntfman ought to be, the following, which I
can affure you is a true copy, will fnew you, in
fome iniiances at leall, what he ought not to be.

underflandings ; and many of them, without doubt, follow the
fcent unwillingly, owing to the little credit that they give to
it. In my opinion, therefore, a fcent which is lefi good, but
more equal, is more favourable to hound-;.

U % SIR,

29^ THOUGHTS UPON HUNTING*

S I R,
YOUR's T received the 24tli of this prefent
Injftant June and at your requelt I will give you

an impartial account of my man John G 's

Cha adler. He is a Shoemaker or Cordwainer
which you pltafe to call it by trade and now in
our Town he is following the Carding Bulinefs
for every one that wants him he ferved his Time
at a Town called Brigftock in Northamptonfhire
and from thence in great Addington Journeyman
to this Occupation as before mentioned and ufed
to come to my houfe and found by riding my horfes
to water that he rode a horfe pretty well which
was not at all miftaken for he rides a horfe well
and he looks after a kennel of hounds very well
and find^ a hare very well he hath no judgment
in hunting a pack of hounds now tho he rides
well he dont with dilcrction for he dont know
how to make the moil of a horfe but a very harey
fi:arey fellow will ride over a church if in his way
tho may prevent the leap by having a gap within
ten yards of him and if you are not in the field
with him yourfelf when you are a hunting to tu-r
tor him about riding he will kill ail the horfe3>
you have in the ftable in one month for he hath,
killed downright and lamed fo that will never
be fit for ufe no- mor^ than five horfes fmcc he
hath hunted my hounds v/hich is two years and
upwards he can talk no dog language to a hound
lio hath no voice he fpeaks to a hound jufl as if

his

THOUGHTS UPON HUNTING, 293

his head were in a drum nor neither does lie know
bow to draw a hound when they are at a lofs no
more than a child of two years old as to his ho-
nefty I always found him honelt till about a week
ago and have found him dlfhoneft now for about
a week ago I fent my fervant that I have now to
fetch fome flieep's feet from Mr. Stanjan of

Higham Ferrers where G ufed to go for feet

and I always fend my money by my man ihat
brings the feet and Stanjan told my man that I
have nov/ that I owed him money for feet and
when the boy came home he told me and I went
to Stanjan and when I found the truth of the mat-
ter G- had kept my money in his hands and

had never paid Stanjan he had been along with
me once for a letter in order for his chara6ter to
give him one but I told him I could not give

him a good one fo I would not write at all G

is a very great drunkard cant keep a penny in his
pocket a fad notorious lyar if you fend him upon
an errand a mile or two from Uppingham he will
get drunk ihiy all day and never come home while
the middle of the night or fuch time as he knowsi
his mafter is in bed he can nor will not keep any
fecret neither hath he fo much v/it as other people
for the fellow is half a fool for if you would have
buiincfs done wilh expedition if he once gets out
of the town or fight of you fhall fee him no more
>vhile the next morning he fervcs mc fo and fo
you mufl exped the fame if you hn*e him I ufe

U 3 you

294- THOUGHTS UPON HUNTING.

you juft as I would be ufed myfelf if I defired a
chara6ter of you of a lervant that I had defigned
to hire of yours as to let you know the truth of
every thing about him.

' I am Sir
Your mo ft humble fervant to command

P.S.

He takes good care of his horfes with good
looking after him as to the dreffing 'em but if you
dont take care he will fill the manger full of corn
fp that he will cloy the horfes and ruin the whole
liable of horfes.

Great Addington
June the 28th 1734.

LET-

THOUGHTS UPON HUNTING. 2,95

LETTER XXIII.

T TOLD you, I believe, at the beginning of our
■^ correfpondence, that I dilliked bag-foxes ; I
fhall now tell you what my objections to them
are : — the fcent of them is different from that of
other foxes ; it is too good, and makes hounds
idle ; befides, in the manner in which they gene-
rally are turned out, it makes hounds very v/ild.
They feldom fail to know what you are going
about before you begin ; and, if often ufcd to
hunt bag- foxes, will become riotous enough to
run any thing. A fox that has been confined
long in a fmall place, and carried out afterwards
in a fack, many miles perhaps, his own ordure
hanging about him,mufi: needs iVmk extravagantly.
You are alfo to add to this account, that he moll
probably is weakened for want of his natural
food and ufual exercife ; his fpirit broken by de-
fpair, and his limbs ftiifened by confinement ;
he then is turned out on open ground without
any point to go to : he runs down the wind, it is
true, but he is fo much at a lofs all thewliile,
that he lofes a deal of time in not knowing v>'hat
to do; while the hounds, who ha^^e no occaiion
to hunt, purfue as clofely as if they were tied to

U 4 him.

296 THOUGHTS UPON HUNTING.

him. I remember once to have hunted a bag-fox
with a gentleman, who not thinkhig thefe advan-
tages enough, poured a whole bottle of anifoed
on the fox's back : I cannot fay that ] could
have hunted the fox, but I affbre you I could
very cafiiy have hunted the anijeed. Is it to be
ex].e'^~^fcd, that the fame hounds will have patience
to iiarit a cold fcent the next day o'er greafy fal-
lov'. s, t'lrough flocks of fheep, or on fi^ony roads?.
However capable they maybe of doing it, I fliould
mu 1. aoubt their giving themfelves the trouble.
If, notwilhiianding tliefe objc6lions, you ftill
chute ro turn one out, turn him into a fmaU co-
ver, give him what time you judge necefTary, and
lay on your hounds as quietly as you can ; and,
if it be poflible, let tlicin think tliey find him. —
If you turn out a fox for blood, I fliould, in that
cafe, prefer the turning him into a large cover,
firit drawing it well to prevent a change. The
hounds fhould then find him themfelves, and the
iboncT he is killed the better. Fifteen or twenty
minutes is as long as I fhould ever wifli a ba<r~
iKs^ti to run that is defigned for blood — the hounds
fhoilld then go home.

Bag-foxes always run dov^^n the wind ; fuch
fportfmen, therefore, as chufe to turn them out,
may at the fame time chufe what country they
ihall run. Foxes that are found do not follow
this rule invariably. Strong earths and large

covers

THOl'GHTS UPON HUNTING. tZp^

covers are great inducements, and it is no incoii-
liderable wind that will keep foxes from them.
A gentleman, who never hunts, being on a vilit
to a friend of his in the country, who hunts a
great deal, heard him talk frequently of hag-foxes%
as he was unwilling to betray his ignorance, his
difcretion and curiolity kept him for fome time
\\\ fufpenfe; till, at laft, he could not refrain from
afking " what kind of animal a hag-fox was ? —
and if it was not " a Jpecies of fox j^ecuTiar to tlm$
country ?

A pack of hounds having run a fox to ground
Immediately after they had found him, he was
digged and turned out again ; and that the ope-
ration of turning him out might be better per-
formed, the mafter of the hounds undertook it
himfelf. You will hardly believe me when 1 tell
you, that he forgot the place where he turned
him out, and they never once hit upon the fcent.

If you breed up cubs, you will find a fox-
court neceflary : they fhould be kept there till
they are large enough to take care of themfelves.
It ought to be open at the top and walled in : I
need not tell you that it mull be every way well
fecured, and particularly the floor of it, which
muft be either bricked or paved. A few boards
fitted to the corners will alfo be of ufe to flielter
and to hide them. Foxes ought to be kept veiy

clean^

2l9^ THOUGHTS UPON HUNTING.

clean, and have plenty of frefli water ; birds and
rabbits are their bell food ; horfe-flcfh might
give them the mange, for they are fubjedt to this
difordcr. — I remember a remarkable initance of it.
Going out to coiirfe, I met the whipper-in re-
turning from exerciiing his horles, and alked him
if he had found any hares ? — No, Sir, he replied,
but I have caught a fox. — I faw him funning
himfelf under a hedge, and finding he could not
run, I drove him up into a corner, got off my
horfe, and took him up, but he is fince dead. — I
found him at the place he directed me to, and he
wag indeed a curiofity ; he had not a fingle hair
on his briifh, and very few on his body.

I have kept foxes too long ; I alfo have turned
them out too young: the fafefl; way, I believe,
will be to avoid either extreme. When cubs are
bred in an earth near you, if you add two or
three to the number, it is not improbable that the
old fox v/ill take care of them : of this you may
l)e certain — that if they live they v;ill be good
foxes, for the others will fhew them the country.
Thofe which you turn into an earth fhoqld be
regqlarly fed ; if they fhould be once neglected,
\t is probable they will forfake the place, wander
away, iind die for want of food. When the cub#
leave the earth, (which they may foon do) your
gamekeeper fhould throw food for them in parts
of the cover where it may be moil eafy for them

to

THOUGHTS UPON HUNTING. 299.

to find it ; and when he knows their haunt, he
fhould continue to feed them there : nothhig dc-
llroys fo much the breed of foxes as buying them
to turn out, unlefs care be taken of them after '■
wards.

Your country being extenfive, probably it may
not be all equally good ; it may be worth your
while, therefore, to remove fome of the cubs
from one part of it into the other; it is what I
frequently do myfelf, and find it anfwer.* A
fox-court is of great ufe ; it ihould be any, or I
cannot advife you to keep them long in it. I
turned out one year ten brace of cubs, moft of
which, by being kept till they were tainted before
they were turned out, were found dead in the
covers, with fcarcely any hair upon them ; whilft
a brace, which had made their efcape by making
a hole in the fack in which they were brought,
lived and fhewed excellent foort. Should the

* Though turned out foxes may fometimes anfwer the pur-
pofe of entering young hounds, yet they feldom fiiew any di-
verfion I few of thofe I have turned into my v/oods have I
ever feen again : belides, the turning out of foxes, and alarming
the neighbourhood, may hajien their deflru6lion. Foxes v.'iij.
be plentiful enough where traps are not fet to deftroy them ;
^ Ihould they do any injury to the farmer, make fatisfa6tion fof
it ; encourage the neighbouring gamekeepers to preferve them
by paying them handfomely for every litter of cubs that they
take care of for you : if you a£l in this manner you may not
have occafion to turn any out.

cubs

300 THOUGHTS UPON HUNTING.

cubs be large, you msy turn ilieni out immedi-!
ately : a large earth will be beft for that purpofe,
where they ought to be regularly fed ^Ni'\\ rab-
bits, birds, or fheeps henges, which ever you can,
mofl: conveniently get. I believe, when a fox is
once tainted, he never recovers. The weather
being remarkably hot, thofe which I kept in my
fox-court (and it, at that time, was a very clofe
one) all died, one after the other, of the fame
diibrdcr.

Where rabbits are plentiful, nature will foon
teach your cubs how to catch the young ones ;
and till that period of abundance arrives it may
be neceffary to provide food for them.* Where
game is fcarce wet weather will be mofl: favoura-
ble to them ; they can then live on beetles, chaf-
fers^ worms, &c. which they will find great plenty
of. I think the morning is the beft lime to turn
them out; if turned out in the evening they will
be likely to ramble, but if turned ovi early, and
fed on the earth, there is little dou')t of their re-
maining there.'}- I alfo recommend to you, to.

* If a {lieep die, let it be carried to tl:e cr.rth, and it will af-
ford the cubs food for fome time.

f A raare certain method, perhaps, might be to pale in
part of a copfe which has an earth in it. It might be
well ftocked v.ith rabbits, the young ones of which the
cubs would foon learn to catch. You might have meufcs in
the pale, and let them out when capable <4 getting their own
food.

tura

tnOUGHTS UPON HUNTING. 30!

turn them into large covei-s and firong earths ;
out of fmall earths they are more hable to bd
llolen, and from fmall covers are more hkely to
llray. Your game-keeper, at this feafon of the
year, having httle to do, may feed and take care
of them. When you flop any of thefe earths^
remember to have Ihem opened again ; as^ I have
realbn to think, I loft fome young foxes one year
by not doing it. For your own fatisfadion, put
a private mark on every fox which you turn out,
that you may know him agiiin. Yoiir cubs,
though they may get off from the covers where
they were bred, when hunted, will feldom fail
to return to them.

Gentlemen who buy foxes. do great injury to fox-
hunting : they encourage the robbing of neigh-
bouring hunts ; in which cafe, without doubt, the
receiver is as bad as the thief. — It is the interefl of
every fox-hunter to be cautious how he behaves
in this particular : indeed, I believe mofl gentle-
men are ; and it may be eafy to retaliate on fuch

as are not. —I am told, that in fome hunts it is

the conftant employment of one perfon to watch
the earths at the breeding time, to prevent the
cubs from being llolen. Furze- covers cannot
be too much encouraged for tluit reafoii, for there
they are fafe. They have alfo other advantages
attending them ; — they are certain places to find
in ; — Foxes cannot break from them unfeen ; —
3 nor

302 THOUGHTS UPON HUNTINGj

nor arc you lb liable to change as in othef'
covers.*

Acquainted as I am with your fentiments, it
would be needlcfs to defire you to be cautiou?.
how you buy foxes. The price fome men pay for
them might well encourage tlie robbing of every
hunt in the kingdom, their own not accepted. —
But you defpife the ^i d'lj'cmt gentleman who re-
ceives thicm, more than the poor thief who takes
them. — Some gentlemen alk no queftions, and
flatter themfclves they have found out that coa ^
venient //lezzo tenuino for the eafy accommoda-
tion of their conlcienccs.

With rclpcct to the digging of foxes you run
to ground ; what I mylelf have obferved in that
bniincfs, I will encle.ivour to rccoUedl:. My peo-
ple ufually, 1 think, follow the hole, cxct])t when
the earth is large, and the terriers have fixed the
fox in an angle of it ; for they then And it a
more ex^^editious method to fink a pit as near to

* A fwv, when prefTcd by hounds, will feldom go inio a
fur'ze-brake. Rabbits, which are the fox's favourite food, may
alfo be encouraged tfiere, and yet do little damage. Were they
fufFered to eflablidi themfclves in your woods, it would be dif-
ficult to deftroy t'lem nfterwards. Thus far 1 object to them a'j
a farmej ; I obje^: to them, alfo, as a fo.x-huuter ; fince nothing.
Is more prejuuicirJ to the breeding of foxes, than dilUirbing your
u'oods, late iu the feafoji, to dcftroy the rabbits.

him

THOUGHTS UPON HUNTING* 303

him as they can. You Ihoald always keep a terrier
in at the fox, for if you do not, he not only may
move, but alfo, in loofe ground, may dig himfelf
further in. In digging, you fliould keep room
enough ; and care fliould be taken not to throw
the earth where you may liave it to move again.
In following the hole, the fureit way not to lofe

it, is to keep below it. When your hounds

are in want of blood, ftop all the holes, left the
fox fhould bolt out unfeen. It caufes no fmaU
confulion, when this happens. The hounds are
difperfed about, and afleep in different places ;
the horfes are often at a conliderable diftance ;
and many a fox, by taking advantage of the mo-
ment, has faved his life.

If hounds want blood, and have had a long run,
it is the beft way, without doubt, to kill the fox
upon the earth; but if they have not run long; if it
be eafy to dig out the fox ; and the cover be fuch a
one as they are not likely to change in ; it is better
for the hounds to turn him out upon the earth, and
let them work for him. It is the blood that will do
them moll good, and may be ferviceable to the
hounds, to the horfes, and to yourfelf : — digging
a fox is cold work, and may require a gallop af-
terwards to warm you all again. Before you do
this, if there be any other earths in the cover, they
fhould be ftopped, left the fox fliOuld go to
ground again.

2 Ut

^04 tHOUGHTS UPON HUNTING. ^

Let your huntfman try all aroimd, and let bhii
"be perfectly fatisiied that the fox is not gone on,
before you try an earth ; for want of this precau-
tion, I dug three hours to a tsrrijr that lay all the
time at a rabbit : there was another circumftaiice
which I am not likely to forget, — " that I had
'' twenty miles to rule home afterwards^ A tox
fometimes runs over an earth, and does not go
into it ; he fometimes goes in and does not flay ;
he may find it too liot, and may not like the com-
pany that he meets with there: I make no doubt
that he has good reafons for every thing he docs,
though we arc not always acquainted with
them.

Iluntfmcn, when tliey get near the fox, will
■fometimes put a hound in to draw him. This is
however a cruel operation, and feldom anfwera
any other purpofc; "than to occalion tlic dog a bad
bite, the foxes head generally being towards him ;
betides, a few minutes digging will render it un-
neceffary. If you let the fox firfl feizc your
whip, the hound will draw him more readily.*

You fhould not encourage badgers in your
woods; they make flrong earths, which will be ex-

* You may draw a fox by fixing a piece of whipcord madd
into a noofe to the end of a ftick j which, wlien the fox fcizes,
you may draw him out by.

penlive

THOUGHTS UPON HUNTING* 5O5

|)enfive and troublefome to you if you do flop ; or
fatal to your Iport if you do not. You^ without
doubt, remember an old Oxford toaft^

Hounds ftout, and horfes healthy,
Earths well flopp'd, and foxes plenty.

All certainly very defirable to a fox-hunter i yet
I apprehend the earths Jiopped tc be the moft ne-
cciTary, for the others, v/ithout that, would be
ufelefs. Belides, I am not certain that earths are
the fafeft places for foxes to breed in ; for fre-
quently, when poachers cannot dig them, they
will catch the young foxes in trenche?, dug at the
mouth of the hole, which I believe they caij. tuniimg
them. A fev,- large earths near to your houfe are
certainly defirable, as they will draw the foxes
thither, and, after a long day, will fometim^s
bring you home.

If foxes Ihould have been bred in an earth
which you think unfafe, you had better fiink
them out : that^ or indeed any diflurbance at the
mouth of the hole, will make the old one carry
them off to another place.

In open countries, foxes, when they are much
diflurbed, will lie at earth. If you have difnculty
in finding, flinking the earths will fometimes pro-
duce them again. The method which I ufe to

X flink

^C^ THOUGHTS trPON HUNT1N(^-

ilink an earth is as follows: — three pounds of
fulphur, and one pound of aflafcctida are boiled up
together ; matches are then made of brown pa-
per, and lighted in the holes, which arc after-
wards flopped very clofe. — Earths, that are not
Tifed by badgers, may be flopped early, which will
anlwer the famepurpofe; but where badgers fre-
iquent, it would be ulelefs, for they would open
them again.

Badgers may be caught alive in facks, placed
at the mouth of the hole ; fetting traps for them
would be. dangerous, as vou might catch your
foxes alfo. They may be caught by iHnking theni
out of a great earth, and afterwards following thern
to a fmaller one, and digging them.

Your country requires a good terrier ; I Ihould
prefer the black or v.hite terrier ; fome there are
fo like a fox, that awkward people frequently
miftake one for the other. If you like terriers to
run with your pack, large ones, at times, are ufe-
ful ; but in an carlh, they do but little good, as
they cannot always get up to a fox. You had
better not enter a young terrier at a badger : —
young terriers have not the art ('■( ihifting like old
ones ; and, fhould they be good for any thing,
mofl probably will go up boldly to him at once,
and get themfelves molt terribly bitten ; for this
reafon you fho'uTd enter them at young foxes,

2 when

THOUGHTS UPON HUNTING. 307

*when you can. Before I quit this fubject, I mufl
mention an extraordinary inflance of fagacity in
a bitch- fox, that was digged out of an earth with
four young ones, and brought in a fack upwards
of twenty miles to a gentleman in my neighbour-*
hood, to be turned out the next day before bis
hounds. This fox, weak as fhe mull have been,
ran in a Urait line back again to her own country^
crofTed two rivers, and was at laft killed near to
the earth fhe was digged out of the day before.—-
Foxes that are bred in chfTs near the fca, feldom
are known to ramble any great diftance i'rom
them ; and fportfmen, who know the country
where this fox was turned out, will tell you, that
there is not the lead rcafon to think that Hie
could have any knowledge of it.

Beiides the digging of foxes, by which method
tnany young ones arc taken, and old ones de-
ftroyed ; traps, &c. too often are fatal to them.
Farmers for their lambs, (which, by the bye,
few foxes ever kill) gentlemen for their game, and
old women for their poultry, are their inveterate
enemies. I mull, however, give an inflance of
civility I once met with from a farmer. — The
hounds had found, and were running hard ; the
farmer came up in highfpirits, and faid, " I hope,
*^ Sir, you will kill him; he has done me much
'' damage lately ; he carried away all my ducks
*' laft week : — I would not W« him thouch — too

X 2 *' goad,

308 THOUGHTS UPON HUNTING.

*' good a fportfrnan for that." — So much for the
hone ft farmer.

In the country where I live moft of the gentle^
men are fportfmcn ; and even thofe who are not,
Ihew every kind of attention to thofe who arc ; I
am forry it is otherwife with you : and that your
old gouty neighbour fhould deftroy your foxes, I
muit own, concerns me. I know fonie gentle-
men, wlio, when a neighbour had deftroycd all
their foxes, and thereby prevented them from pur-
fuing a favourite amufcment, loaded a cart with
ipaniels, and went all together and deftroycd hi&
pheafants. I think they might have called this,
very properly, lex ialionis, and it had the defired
efFe6t ; for as the gentleman did not think it pru-
dent to fight them ail, he took the wiler method^,
he made peace with them. He gave an order
that no more foxes fhould be deftroycd, and they
jKiever afterwards killed any of his pheal'ants.

LET.

THOUGHTS UPON HUNTING, ^OJi

LETTER XXIV,

I AM now, my friend, about to take leave of
you ; and at the fame time that I give repofe
to you, let me intreat you to fhew the fame favour
to your hounds and horfes. It is now the breed-
ing feafon, a proper time, in my opinion, to leave
off hunting ; lince it is more likely to be your fer-
vants amutement, than your's ; and is always to
the prejudice of two noble animals, which we
fportfmen are bound in gratitude to take care of.

After a long and tirefome winter, furely the
horfe deferves fome repofe. Let him then enjoy
his fhort-lived liberty; and as his feet are the
parts which fufFer moft, turn him out into a foft
pafture. Some there are, who difapprove of
grafs, faying, that when a horfe is in good order, the
turning him out undoes it all again. — It certainly
does. — ^Yet at the fame time, I believe, that nq
horfe can be frefh in his limbs, or will lafl you
long without it. — Can ftanding in a hot flable do
him any good ? — and can hard exercife, particuT
larly in the fummer, be of any advantage to him ?
Is it not foft ground and long reft thiit will bef^
X 3 refrefh.

3X6 THOUGHTS UPON HUNTING.

refreili his limbs, while the night air, and morn-
ing dews will invigorate his body ? — Some never
phyfic their hunters ; only obferving, when they
firfl take them up from grafs, to work them
gently : ibme turn out thcir's all the year. It is
not unufual for fuch as follow the latter method,
to ph}fic their horfes at grafs ; they then are taken
tip, well icd, and properly exerciied to get them
into order ; this done, they are turned out for a
few hours every day when they arc not ridden.
The pafture fhould be dry, and fhould have but
little grafs ; there they will flreteh their limbs,
and cool their bodies, and will take as much ex-
crcife as is neceflary for them. I have remarked,
that thus treated they catch fev/er colds, have the
ufc of their limbs more freely, and are Icfs liable
to lamenefs than other horfes. Another ad-
vantage attends this method, which, in the horfes
you ride yourfelf, you will allow to be very mate-
rial : — your horfe, when once he is in order, will
require lefs ftrong exercife than grooms generally
give their horfes ; and Ins mouth, in all proba-
bilily, will not be the worle for it.

The Earl of Pembroke, in his Military Equi-
tation, is, I lind, of the fame opinion ; he tells
lis, — '* It is of the greatefl confequence for horfes
*' to be kept clean, regularly fed, and as regularly
" exerciied : but whoever choofes to ride in the
*' w a\- of cafe and pleafure, without any fatigue

*' on

THOUGHTS UPON HUNTING. ^It

*^ on horfeback, or, in lliort, does not like to carry
** his horle, inftead of his horfc's carrying him,
" niufi: not lufFer his horfc to be exercifed by a
'' groom ; ftanding up on his flirrups, holding
*' himfelt'on by means of the reins, and thereby
*' hanging his whole dead weight on the horfe's
" mouth, to the entire deilrudlion of all that is

" good, fafe, or pleafant about the animal."

And in another place he fays, — " Horles Ibould
*' be turned loofe fomewhere, or w^alked about
*' every day, when they do not work, particularly
** after hard exercife : fwelled legs, phyfie, he.
" will be faved by thefe means, and many diflem-
*' pcrs avoided." He alfo obferves that, " it is
" a matter of the greatefl confequence, though
" few attend to it, to feed horfes according to
*' their work. When the work is hard, food
" fliould be in plenty ; when it is otherwifcj the
" food fliouldbe diminillied immediately, the hay
** particularly,"

I have no doubt that the noble author is per-
fc6lly right in thefe obfervations : I am alfo of
opinion that a handful or two of clean wheaten
flraw, chopped fmall, and mixed with their corn,
would be of great fervice to your horfes, provided
that you have intereft enough witii your groom
to prevail on him to give it them.

X 4 Such

^IZ THOUGHTS UPON HUNTING.

Such of my horfes as are pbylicked at grafs,
have two dofes given them when they arc turned
out, and three more before +hcy are taken up. —
Grafs ph^'^lic is of k) mild a kind, that you will
not find tins quantity too much ; nor have I ever
k iown an acciden- happen from it, ahhough it has
been given in very indifferent weather. I fhould
tell ycu, that my horfes are always taken in, the
firit liight after their phytic, though the printed
dire<SlionSj I believe, do not requiie it. Such
horfes as are fail of humours fhould be phyficked
at houfe, lince they may require ftronger dofcs
than gnifs phylic will admit of, which, I think
more proper to prevent humours, than to remove
them. The only ufc 1 know in phyficking a
horfe that does not appear to want it, is to pre-
vent, if poihble, his requiring it at a time whcr^
you cannot fo well fpare him — I mean the hunt-
ing feafon : fhould an accident of this kind hap-
pen. Stibium's balls, of which I fend you the re-
ceipt, will be found of ufe :

Crocus Metallorum, levigated 2 ozs.
Stibium's ditto - - 2

Flour of brimftone - i

Caliile foap - - i

Liquorice powder - i

Honey, q. f. to make It into a paile.

AbaU

THOUGHTS UPON HUNTING. 313

A ball of one ounce weight is to be given for
three mornhigs fucceflively. — Tl:e horfe mull be
kept falling for two hours after he has taken it :
he then may have a feed of corn, and foon after
that moderate exercife. The fame Ihoiild be re-
peated four days afterwards. — Thefe balls purify
the blood, and operate on the body by infeniiblc
perlpiration.

I frequently give nitre to fuch of my hunters aS
are not turned out to grafs ; — it cools their bodies,
and is of fervice to thcni. It may be given either
in their water, or in their corn ; I fometimes give
an ounce in each.

To fuch of my horfes as are thick winded, and
fuch as carry but little flelh, I give carrots. In
many Itables they are given at the time of feeding,
in the ccrn ; I prefer giving them at any other
time — for it is a food which horfes are fo fond of,
that if by any accident you fliould omit the car-
tots^ I doubt if they would eat the corn, readily,
without them.

I think you are perfcdlly in the right to mount
your people well ; there is no good oeconomy in
giving them bad horfe^^; ; they take no care of
them, but wear them out as foon as they can^
that they may have others.

The

314. THOUGHTS UPON HUNTING.

The queftlon you afk me about fhoeing, I am
unable to anfwer. Yet I am of opinion, that
horfes fhould be fhod with more or lets iron, ac-
cording as the country where they hunt requires;
but in this, a good farrier will beft dired you.
Nothing certainly is more necetlary to a horfe
than to be well fliod. The flioe fliould be a pro-
per one, and it fliould fit his foot. Farriers are
but too apt to make the foot fit the flioe.* My
groom carries a falfe fhoe, which jull ferves to
fave a horfe's hoof, when he lofes a flioe, till
it can be put on again. In fome countries you
fee them loaded with laws, hatchets, Slc. 1 am

* I venture to give the following rules on flioeing — in a fliort
and dccifive manner, as founded on the ftii£teft anatomical and
mechanical principles, laid down by the beft maflers. The
iboe fliould be flat, and not turned up at the heel, or reach be-
yond//w/, or the toe: but the middle part fliould extend rather
beyond the outv/ard edge of the hoof, that the hoof may not be
contrafted ; the outward part of which may be pared to bring it
down to an even furface, to fit it for the fixing on of the flioe.—
If the foot be ton long, the foe may be pared, or rafped down ;
which, in many cafes, may even be necefiary to preferve the
proper flia{)e of the hoof, and bring the foot to a ftroke, and
bearing, the moft natural and advantageous. Neither the
horny-fole, or frog, (nieant by nature for the guard of the foot,
and fafety of the horfe) are, upon any account, to be pared or
cut away. The fmall, loofe, r-agged parts, that at times appear,
ihould be cut ofr with a pcn-kiiife ; but that deflrufiive inftru-
mcnt called the buttcris^ which, in the hands of ftubborn igno-
rance, has done more injury to the feet of horfes than all th^
I baces of tl-ie world, faould be baniUied for ever.

glad

THOUGHTS UPON HUNTING, 315

glad that the country in which I hunt does not
require them. In the book. I have jull quoted,
you will find the ihoeing of horfes treated of very
much at large. I beg leave, therefore, if you
want further information on that head, to refer
you to it.

Having declared my difapprobation of fum-
mer hunting, on account of the horfes, I mull
add, that I am not lefs an enemy to it on account
of the hounds alio ; they, I think, fliould have
Ibme time allowed them to recover the ftrains and
bruifes of many a painful chace ; and their diet,
in which the adding: to their flren'Z'th has been,
perhaps, too much conlidcred, fhould now be al-
tered. No more flefh. fhould they now eat ; but
in its flead, lliould have their bodies cooled, with
whey, greens, and thin meat : without this pre-
caution, the mange, moft probably, would be the
immediate confequence of hot weather, perhaps
madnefs : — direful malady !

As a country life has been recommended in all
ages, not lefs for the contentment of the mind,
than the health of the body, it is no wonder that
hunting fhould be conlidered by fo many as a
necelTary part of it, fince nothing conduces more
to both : a great genius has told us, that it is

Better to hunt in fields for health unbought,
Than fee tlie dodlor for a naufeous draught.

With

3l6 THOUGHTS irPON HUNTING,,

With regard to its peaceful ftate, according to a
modern poet ;

No fierce unruly fenate threatens here,
No axe, or fcafFold to the view appear,
No envy, difappointnient, and defpair.

}

And for the contentment which is fuppofed to
accompany a country Ufe, we have not only the
befl authority of our own time to fupport it, but
even that of the befl poets of the Augullan age.
Virgil furely felt what he wrote, when he faid,
*' 0 fortuna 7um'mm Jiuit'i fi bona norint, agricolce {"^
and Horace's famous ode, "^ Beatus ille qui procui
*' nego/iis,'" feems not lets to come from the heart
of a man, who is generally allowed to have had
a perfc6l knowledge of mankind ; and this, even
at the time when he was the favourite of the
grcateft emperor, and in the midfl: of all the
magnificence of the greatetl city in the world.

The elegant Pliny alfo, in his epiftle to Minu-
tius Fundanus, which is admirably tranflated by
the Earl of OiTery, v>'hilft he arraigns the life he
leads at Rome, fpeaks with a kind of rapture of
a country life: "Welcome," fays he, ^' thou
*' life of integrity and virtue ! welcome fweet
*' and innocent amufement ! Thou ih^t art al-
" moft preferable to bufincfs and employment of
*' every kind." Aud it was hre, we are told,

that

tHOUGHTS UPON HUNTING. 3 I jf

tliat the great Bacon experienced his truefl; feli-
city. With regard to the Otmn cum dlgnitate, fo
much recommended, no one, I beheve, under-
flands the true meaning of it better, or pra6lifcs
it more fuccefsfully than you do.

A rural life, I think, is better fuited to this
kingdom than to any other ; becaufe the country
in England affords pleafures and amufements un-
known in other countries ; and becaufe its rival,
our Englifh town (or ton) life, perhaps is a lefg
pleafant one than may be found elfewhere. If
this, upon a nice invcftigation of the matter,
ihould appear to be ftridly true, the conclufion that
would neceffarily refult from it might prove more
than I mean it fliould ; therefore we will drop the
fubje(9:. Should you, however, differ from me
in opinion of your town life, and difapprove what
I have faid concerning it, you may excufe me, if
you pleafe, as you would a lawyer, who does the
befi: he can for the party for whom he is retained,
I think you will alfo excufe any expreflions I may
have ufed, which may not be current here ; if you
find, as I verily believe you may, that I have not
made ufe of a French word, but when I could not
have expreffed my meaning fo well by an Englifh.
one : — it is only an unnecefTary and afFe(51ed ap-r
plication of a foreign language, that in my opi-
nion, is deferving of cenfure.

3l8 THOUGHT? UPON HUNTING,

To thofe who may think the danger which at-
tends upon hunting a great objedlion \o the pur-
fuit of it, I mull; beg leave to obferve, that the
accidents which are occalioned by it are very
iew. I will venture to fay, that more bad acci-
dents happen to fhooters in one year than to
thole who follow hounds in feven. You will re-
mind me, perhaps, of the death of T k, and

the fall of D 1 ; but do accidents never hap-
pen on the road? the moll famous huntfman and
boldeft rider of his time, after having hunted a
pack of hounds for feveral years unhurt, loll his
life at laft by a fall from his horfe as he was re-
turning home. A furgcon of my acquaintance
lias affurcd me, that in thirty years practice, in a
Iporting country, he had not once an opportu-
nity of fetting a bone for a fportfman, though
ten packs of hounds were kept in the neighbour-
hood. This gentleman furely mull have been
much out of luck, or huntins; cannot be lb dan-
gcrous as it is thought. Bclides, tl^ey are all
timid animals that we purfue, nor is there any
danger in attacking them : they are not like llic
furious beaft of the Ge'vaudaUy which, as a French
author informs us, an army of 20,000 French
chaffeuis went out in vain to kill.

If my time in writing to you fliould not have
been io well employed as it might have hQcu^yoii
at Icall will not find that fault with it; nor fliall

I repent

THOUGHTS UPON HtTNTfNG. 319

I rcpont of having employed it in this manner,
unlefs it were more certain than it is, that it wouM
have been employed better. It is true, theic let-
ters are longer than T firfl intended they fhould
be ; they would have been fiortef could I have
beftowed more time upon them. Some technical
words have crept in imperceptibly, and virith them
fome exprefiions better fiiited to the field than to
the clofet : nor is it ncceflary, perhaps, that a
fportfman, when he is writing to a Iportiman,
fhould make exciiles for them. In fome of my
letters you have found great variety of matter;
the variety of queuions contained iwyours made
it ibmetimes unavoidable. I know there muft be
fome tautology ; it fcarcely is pofiible to remem-
ber all that has been laid in former letters ; let
that diiiiculty, if you pleafe, excule the fault. I
fear there may be fome contradicfions for the fame
reafon, and there may be many exceptions. I trull
them all to your candour, nor can they be in bet-
ter hands. I hope you will not find that I have
at different times given different opinions ; but
fhould that be the cale, without doubt you will
follow the opinion which coincides moil with your
own. If on any points I have differed from great
authorities, I am forry for it; I have never hunted
with thole who are looked up to as the great mat-
ters of this fcience ; and when I difier from them
it Is without defign. Other methods, doubtlefs,
there are, to make the keeping of hounds much

more

§20 THOUGHTS UPON HUNTII^G,

more expenfive, which, as I do not pradlife my-
felf, 1 fhall not recommend to you ; — treated after
the manner here defcribed they will kill foxes, and
Hiew } ou Iport. I have anfwcred all your quef-
tions as concitely as I was able, and it has been
my conftant endeavour to fay no raor'- titan I
thought \h'^ lubjeft required. Tiie time iDay
come, when more experienced fportfmcn p.nd
abler pens may do it grealer jufdce; till then,
accept the obfcrvations that I have made: take'
them, read them, try them. There v.as a timd
when I fhould readily have received the informa-
tion they give, iraperfe6t as it may be ; for expe-
rience is ever a flow teacher, and 1 have had no
other. Willi regard to books^ Somervile is the
only author whom I have found of any ufe on
this fubjeft ; you will admire the poet and efleem
the man; yet I am not certain that you will be
always fatisfied with the lefTons of the huntfman*
Proud of the authority, I have quoted from him
as often as it would fuit your purpofe ; and, for*
your fake, have I braved the evident difad vantage
that attended it. I wifh this elegant poet had
anfwered all }our quefiions; you then would
have received but one letter from me — to refer
you to him. That no other writer fliould have
followed his fleps may thus, I think, be accounted
for : tiiofe gentlemen who make a profeffion of
writing live chiefly in town, confequently cannot
be fappofcd to know much of hunting : and

thoib

tllOUGHTS ITPON HITNTING. 32*!

tliofe who do know any thing of it are either
fervants that cannot write, or country gentlemen
who will not give themfelves the trouble. How-
ever, I have met with foine curious remarks which
I cannot help communicating to you. One author
tells us, that " courting is more agreeable than
" hunting, hecaufe it is foonsr over:'^ — " that a
*• terrier is a inurgrel greyhound z'' — and '^ that'
*' dogs have often coughs from eating fifli honest*

Another (a French author) advifes us to give a
liorfe, after hunting, " a foup made of bread and
*• wine, and an onion."- — I tear an Englilli groqna
would eat the onion, and drink the wine.

The fame author has alfo a very particular

method of catching rabbits, which you will pleax^b

k> take in his own words, he calls it — Chajfe du

Japin a Vccrevijfe. '* Cette chafje convient aux per-

*^ fonnes qui ne veulent employer ni furets ni armes a

'^^ feic : on tend des poches d'une extremite d^in ter-

** rier, et a l' autre on gliJJ'e une ecreviffe\ cet animal

" arrive peu-a-feu au fond de la retraite du lapin^

" le pique, sy attache avec tant de force, qus h

*^ quadrupede efl oblige de fuir, emportant avec lui

" fo7i ennend, et vient fe fair e prendre dans le filet

*' qu'on lui a tendu a Vouverture du terrier. Cette

V^ chaffe demnnde heaucoup de patience: les opera^

^' tions de T ecreviffe font lentes, mais aufji ellesfont

^^ quelqjie fois plus fures que celles dufuret*^

Y This

32Z TIIOtGHTS UPON HUNTING.

This gentleman's iing«lar method of hunting
rabbits iinih a hhjier, reminds me of a method
harlequin * has of killing hares, not lefs inge-
nious, with 8panijh Jmiff, Brighella tells him,
that the hares eat up all his mafter's green wheat,
and that he knows not how to kill them ; " no-
^^ thing more eafy," replies harlequin — " I will
" engage to kill them all with two pennyworth
^^ of fnuff. They come in the night, you fay,
" to feed on the green wheat ; fi:rew a little fnuff"
** over tlie field before they come, it will fet
*' them all a fneezing ; nobody will be by to lay
*' God Mcfsyoiiy and, of conrfe^ they will all die/'

I believe, during our prelent correfpondence^
that I have twice quoted the Encyclopedic with
fome degree of ridicule; I muft, notwithftanding,
beg leave to fay, in juftice to myfelf, that I have
great efteem for that valuable work.

On opening a very large book called the Gen'
ilemaris Recreation, I met with the following re-
markable paffage : — " Many have written of this
" fubje61-, as well the antients as moderns, yet
" but few of our countrymen to any purpofe ;
*^ and had one all the authors on this fabjccSty
*^^ (as indeed on any other) there would be more

* The harlequin of the Italian theatre, v/hofe to}igm is a£
liberty as well as his hceh.

<* trouble

THOUGltTS UPON HUNTING* 32J

^f trouble to pafs by than to retain ; moft books
" being fuller of words than matter, and of that
-*f which is for th« moil: part very erroneous." — ■
All who have written on the fubje6l of hunting
feem to agree in this at leaflj to fpeak indifferently
of one another.

You have obfervcd in one of your letters, that
i do not always follow my own rules ; and, as a
proof of it, you have remarked that many of my
hounds are oddly named: — I cannot deny the
charge. I leave a great deal to my huntfman;
but if you aim at perfedion, leave as little as you.
can help to your's. It is eaiier, I believe, in
every inftance, to know what is right than it is to
follow it ; but if the rules I have given be good,
what does It tignify to you whether I follow them
QY not ? A country fellow ufed to call every di-
recting poft he faw a doctor. He was afked, why
he called them fo ? " Why, mafler," faid he, " I
^* never fee them but they put me in mind of the
" parfon of our parifli, who conftantly points^
^' out a road to us he does not follow himfelf.'*

If I can add to the amufement of fuch as fol-
low this diveriion, I fliall not think my time has
been ill employed ; and if the rules which are
here given may any ways tend to preferve that
friendly animal the hound from one unneceflary
lafhj I fhall not think they have been written in
Y 2, vain.

324 thoi;ghts upon hunting.

vain.* It never was my expe6lation to be able
to fend you a complete trcatife ; — Thoughts upon
Hiatt'ing^ in a feries of familiar Letters, were all I
propofed to myfelf the pleafurc of fending : — the
trouble I have taken in writing them entitles me
to fome indulgence ; nor did I, therefore, whillt
I endeavour to render them of ufe, iland in
any fear of criticifm. Yet if any man, as idle
as I have already declared myfelf to be, fliould
take the trouble to criticife thefe letters, tell him
this: — An acquaintance of mine, who had bc-
ftowed much time in improving his place when-
ever he heard it found fault with, " allied where
*^ the critic lived ? whether he had any place of
" his own ? whether he had attempted any im-
<^ provements ? and concluded with promiiing a
" feep at it.'' — The gentleman here alluded to
had lefs humility than your humble fervant.

* Strangely unfortiuiate fliould I thiMk myfelf, if while I
profefs to be a friend to dogs, I flioukl prove their bittcrcfi:
enemy, and if thofe mles which were intended to lefien, fhovild
increafe their uifFerlngs ; convinced as I am by experience,
that a regular fyileni of education is the fureft means to render
correfliou unnecefiary. Hnrd is that heart (if any fuch there
be) which can ill ufe a creature fo afFe6tionate and fo good ;
who has renounced his native liberty to aflbciate with man, to
whofe fervice his whole life is dedicated : who, fenfible of every
kinduefsi, is grateful for the fmalleft favour; while the worft
ufage cannot eftrange his affection, in which he is (beyond all
exainplej conflant, faithful, and difinterefled ; who guards hiin
by night, and amufes him by day, and is, perhaps, the only
companion who will not forfake him in adverilty.

Take,

THOUGHTS UPON HUNTING. 325

Talce, therefore, my fentimcnts in the following
ines :

— ' «S'/ quid noviji'i rccllus \fth,

Candidti^ im^^rti ; Ji fion, his utere niecum.

Hon,

Farewell.*

* The fong which was at the end of the firft edition of thefe
letters having been already printed by its author, and thought
too local to be neceflary here, is now omitiet^.

Note, Page 115, line 21, si^tQT Jervke, add, I
HOW ufe, inftead of digeflive ointment, a poultice
made of Goulard, as recommended by Arnandj, ia
Jiio edition of that treatife, page 203.

y 3^ A2J

AN

A C C O U N T

OP THE MOST CELEBRATED

DOG KENNELS

XN THE

KINGDOM,

Agreeable to the Intimation given at the conclu^

Jion of the fecond Letter of this fVork, the

Editor prefents the Readers of it with an

account of the moft celebrated Dog Ken-»

N E L s , begirining with-^

HIS MAJESTY'S, at ASCOT:

WITH AN EXA.CT REPRESENTATION OF THE SAME,
BEAUTIFULLY ENGRAVED.

npHIS building is fituated in the center of Af-
-*- cot Heath, juft below the hill, about three
quarters of a mile north-wcfl of the ftarting poft,
and includes in its advantages one of the befl
lituations for the purpofe of any in the kingdom.

To

AN ACCOUNT OP DOG KENNELS. 327

To the excellence and unlverfally admitted fupe-
riority of the eftablifhmentj every inferior conli-
deration becomes fubfervient, and the conllant
fuperintendance of his Majefty contributes to the
promifed attainment of every perfc6lion. The
dwelling houfe of Johnfon, his Majefly's huntf-
man, conftitutes a part of the fabric, and of the
interior parts of this, his Majefty condefcends to
make a furvey, with the fame congenial eafe and
happy affability, as to fuch parts of tlie ftrudure
as become more immediately appropriate to pub-
Jic purpofe. We are v/ell aware the world in ge-
neral conlider his Majefly's appearance in the
field as matter of can-venknce or necejfity^ anci
adopted only as a prefervative of health or a pre-
ventative to ill; it becomes the peculiar province
however, of this article, to wipe away fo ridicq-
lous an idea, and to hold forth the moft unequi-
vocal aflurance that there is no fportfman in the
kingdom who enters more into the minutiae of
the kennel, or the energy of the chace. His
Majefty is not only famihar to the names of the
leading hounds in the pack, but frequently feledts
them in the kennel, as peculiar oi>je6ls of atten-
tion. The fize of the hounds, the increafe of
the packs, the diminution of ftock, the entering
of puppies, or drafting old hounds, are equally
and rationally matters to which his Majeity at-,
tends, though by no means di6latorially; but
once ijoell informed, in reply to his inquiries, after-
X 4 making

32,8 AN ACCOUNT OF DOG KENNELS.

making his own obfervations, he moft happily
and engagingly fubmits the final arrangements
to thofe whofe official province it is to fuperin-
tend the execution.

Ti.e hounds confift, in fa6l, of two packs,
which pafs under the denomination of the " old'*
ard the " young hounds," and are alternately
brought into ufe in the following way: the great
body of old and flaunch liounds are always fe-
lecTted for fuch deer as are known to be good
runners, and conflantly produced in the field
when his Majefty meets: to thefe are frequently
added three or four couple of young hounds, till
the whole have been entered in rotation, and the
tv70 packs are, by fuch gradational introduction,
enabled to conftitutc a kind of confblidation in
rcfpecl to abilities, for whatever exigences may
enfue or circumflances require.

7U

AN ACCOUNT OF DOG KENNELSt ^2^

The RefiJence of the Mojler of his Majeftfs Stag
Hounds being contiguous to the above Buildings an
JEDgrciving, equally defcrlptive of its Situation,
is aijj annexed, and the following Jhort Account y
it is hoped J %vill not be deemed uninterejling.

SWINLEY LODGE,

S Htuated upon Afoot Heath, about a mile
fouth-weft of the Harting poll, furrounded
by hills, and fheltered by lofty trees from fuch
feverity of the elements as is frequently experi-
enced in lituations fo abflracled from rural alTo-
ciation. Notvvithflanding its fequeflered afpeift
and remote ere6lion in the middle of a dreary
beath, it has every internal convenience to render
it happily appropriate to the purpofe for which it
was originally intended. Exclulive of an ex-
cellent ruftic manfion, pofTeffing the room and
requitites for which our buildings of former cen-
turies are fo eaiily diftinguifiiable, it has annexed
ranges of excellent tabling, commodious yards,
domeftic gardens (lefs in the ftile of orname?it
than utility)', paddocks applied folely to pa (lure
for the reception of red deer, as well as various

parcels

330 AN ACCOUNT OP DOG KENNELS.

parcels of land, diflln6lly divided into the re-
quired proportions of meadow and arable, for the
cultivation of fuch hay and corn of every kind as
may be required upon the premifes. To thefe
accumulated conveniences may be added the va-
rious £fh ponds, which, with the live flock of
every kind produced upon the premifes, may be
faid to conftitute an aggregate of the moil luxu-
rious cjatification within a fenced circle of ferti-
lity, tv/o miles in circumference, though fur-
rounded by one of the moit harreyi fpots in the
univcrfe, producing only fuel for the inhabitants
of that and diflant pariflies, and heaih for hrooviSj
by manufa6luring v/hich moll of the neighbour-
ing indigents obtain a livelihood. To this dif-
in&^ and its furrounding hills, his Majcfly's
lierd of red deer appertain ; here they breed, and
being conflantly fed (like the cattle more do-
mefticate) in the feverity of the winter feafon,
they conlider it tlieir home, and become (to thofo
they are accuflonied to fee) much lefs ferocious^
and more aflbciate, than can well bp fuppofed of
an animal fo naturally wild, and fo little fubje6^
to a perfonal furvey from human viiitants.

The prefent relident has given a life and fpirit
to the fcene that it never polTeiTed during the offi-
cial career of either of the two laft of his prede»
ccflbrs, and will fccure to Lord Sandwich the re-
fpect of every fportfman in the kingdom.

DUKE

An account af dog kennels, 33$

BUKE OF RICHMOND'S, at GOODWOOD.

'TPHE next that claims attention is the ken-
-*• nel erecled by his Grace of Richmond, at
Goodwood, in SufTex, and which the engraving
annexed is a perfe6l delineation. To a pcrfon
unacquainted with his Grace, the expenditure of
lipwards of 1 0,000/. on a dog kennel might ap-
pear a matter of furprize, but to the writer of
this, who is no ftranger to his munificence, it
appears no more than a common occurrence.

The duke was his own architect and builder:
he dug his own flints, burnt his own lime, made
his own bricks, and formed the wood-work in his
own fhops.

THE DOG KENNEL

Is a place by itfelf in the park, and is a grand
obje6l to the beft rooms in the houfe. The iront
is handfome. The ground is well raifcd about
it, and turfed. The efFe6l is good.

The dimenfions. — ^The length is 14^ (eef^ the
depth 30; the height, from the crown 0/ the

arches

332 AN ACCOUNT OF DOG KENNELS,

arches that fupport it, 1 8 feet on the lides ; in
the center 28 fceL

The maferiaTs are flints, finiflied at ail the an-
gles by a light grey brick, like the Lymiiigtoft
white iiock.

The diflribution of the building is into £vc
kennels ; two of them j6 by 1 5 — three more 30
by 15 ; two feeding rooms;^ 28 by 15. In each
there are openings at the top for cold air, and
ftoves to warm the air when too cold. There
are fhpplies of water, and drains, into a flank, as
it is called, a depth below, fall of rain water.
From the furface of this rain water to the rife of
the arch, is 1 1 feet ; fo that inconvenience from
fmcll there is none; and the whole at any time
can be cleared off, by drains, to more dependent
depths, dung-pits, &c. So that, as an aid to
farming, it is not altogether ufelefs.

Round the whole building is a pavement five
feet wide, airing yards, places for breeding, Sec.
&c. making part of each wing.

For the huntfman, and for the whipper-in,
there is a parlour, a kitchen, and a fleeping
room for each.

It

AN ACCOUNT OF DOG KENKSLS. 333

' It will contain two packs ; but at prefcnt the
duke has only fox-hounds. The dogs are re-
duced from 60 to 40 couple.

Before this building was finifhed, tlie dogs
ufed to be kept at Plannaker and Charlton, and
twelve hunters were farmed by an old huntfman,
who is now dead. This part of the efiabHlhment
is farmed no tnore.

DUKE

^54 ^"^^ ACCOUNT OP DOG KENNELS*

DUKE o^ BEDFORD'S, at WOBURN
ABBEY.

>Y way of* Introducing what is the more iin«
mediate objedt of our attention, it may be
necefiary to fligbtly notice the other improve-
ments of his Grace — particularly as the engrav-
ing which accompanies it, includes the whole of
the buildings erecSlcd for his iporting. eftablifli-
33ient.

The tennis court and riding lioufc (with apart-
tnents between to drefs in) forms a building 266
feet 8 inches long, and 49 feet 6 inches v/ide, the
whole front of which is ilone: the roof is a flat
one, and covered with a compolition of tar^
clialk, &c. inftead of lead. There are flues run
along the walls, and under the pavement of the
tennis court, to keep off the damps : the walls of
the intide of the riding houfe are painted in pan-
nels, with high pllaflers, and the ceiling is painted
to reprefcnt a clear fky.

There are two wings of ftables, one of which
only is yet fitted up by Mr. Holland, and con-
tains ftalls for 36 hunters, with 11 hofpital
apartments for fick and lame horfes: there is a

2 fad-

AN ACCOUNT OP DOG KENNELS. 23$

faddle room with glafs-fronted prefles, and flues
running along the walls, to keep the faddles dry;
two cillerns with hot and cold water, one of
which is heated by the fame fire that warms the
flues, a pair of jockey fcales, &c.

The dog kennel (efteemed the completell: In
JEngland) is 405 feet long, in the center of which
Hands the boillng-houfe, with feeding- houfes ad-
joining, and a granary behind: on the left are
divifions for litter, Uraw, eleven apartments for
bitches and puppies, with yards to each ; eleven
ditto for bitches in pup, with yards alfo, and a
large divifion for bitches at heat. On the right
of the center are apartments for two kennel keep-
ers, two long lodging rooms for the hunting
hounds, with flues running along the walls, fpa-
cious yards to each, furnifhed with a fountain in
the center for the hounds to drink at, and, water
cocks ifluing near the pavement, to cleanfe it :
adjoining to thefe, are {even hofpitals for lick
hounds, with yards to each.

In the front is a large pond, which fupplies the
fountains and different cocks in the feveral yards
within.

Behind is a large airing ground, flefh-houfe,

ace.

The

2^6 AN ACCOUN-" 0? DOG KENNEL5.

The h'lritfman's lioufe is a liandfomc bulldinj*:
adjo;

^ ■ ._,, ... V-... _\ ^juple of woikiDg,

h\j^.s^^ aid kept in tLekeriiiel^

SIR WILLIAM ROWLEY'S, at TENDER-
ING HALL, SUFFOLK.

FFith a heaut'iful Reprefentat'ion of the Buildings
and a Ground Plan of the fame.

T^TEATNESS and convenlenoe arc mofl hap-
-*-^ pily blended together in this compa6l ken-
nel, and the whole gives no bad fpcclmen of the
tafte and judgment of the munilicent proprietor,
who planned it hirafelf, without any reference to
more fumptuous editiee?.

The lituatlon is to the caflward of 'he noble
manfion ere6led by the late Admirr.I S-'r Jofhua
Rowley, father to Sir William, at the dwlanee of
about half a mile. From near the kitchen gar-
den it has a nK>ft pi6lurefquc and bcabtiful ap-
pearance: from this fpot the view is taken.

Tiie

'yz

_/?

AN ACCOUNT OF DOG KENNELS. 337

The kennel is placed in a deep valley in the
park, a fituation admirably adapted for the pur-
pole, being equally defended from the cutting
eafterly winds, and the heat of the fun in its me-
ridian, by a thick Ikirting of park and foreft
trees. Not having the advantage of a rivulet td
water the courts, that want is amply fupplied by
a pump, which, by means of different cocks^
turns the water to every part of the premifes.

The entrance to the building is at a.

a. Is a pafiage, having on the right a coal-
houfe, h, and on the left, c, the feeder's reli-
dence, which is in the convenient cottage ilyle,
with a neat bed-chamber over it.

d, Is the boiling houfe, with two coppers at e,

/, Is the furnace of a flue, which palTes under
the adjoining room, viz.

g. The hunting kennel, or principal lodging
room: this room is 20 feet by 18 in the clear, and
18 feet high, paved with flag-Hones. The beds,
or benches, which cover almofl: the whole area,
are of an excellent and original contrivance, be-
ing lathed, like fome bedfteads, and all made to
fold up with joints, for the convenience of wafli-
ing the floor beneath them. By means of the flue
Z at

338 AN ACCOUNT OF DOG KENNELS.

at /, this room is heated to any temperature, and
the hounds, after fevere chaces, and in wet wea-
ther, arc rendered dry and comfortable in a much
Icfs time than they would be by any other means.

h. The kennel, or lodging room for the young
hounds. This is of the fame dimenlions as the
preceding, and enjoying all the fame conveni-
ences, except the flue, which would here be ufe-
lefs.

z, Several fmall kennels for bitches, previous
to geftation,

h. Several fmall kennels for bitches with young
puppies.

/, Paved court to the hunting kennel.

niy Feeding houfe, one half of which is open,
the reft under cover.

n^ Paved court to the young hounds' kennel.

0, Pump: />, q, ftone water cifterns.

r. Great grafs yard, for airing the hounds be-
longing to the hunting kennel, containing about
an acre and three quarters.

fJJ>

^a

^

x-

X)^

( w^^

\.

a I

^v

<NO

AN ACCOUNT OF DOG KENa\ELS. 339

/,/,/, Avenue of lime, chelhut, and other trees
in the great grafs yard, forming a mofl excellent
Ihade for the hounds.

/, Grafs yard for the young hounds, contain-
ing about one acre and a quarter, with lime,
French afh, and other trees, for fhade. — N. B. The
lize of the plate would not admit Ihewing the
boundaries of this yard, without diminiftiing the
fcale,

Ut The park.

^ To the puppy kennels, 1 2 in number, and
admirably well adapted for the purpofe.

Tendering Hall is beautifully lituated in the
parifh of Stoke-by-Nayland, in Suffolk, which
is feparated from the county of F-fTex by the na-
vigable river Stour, which runs from hence to
Stratford, Dedham, Maningtree, and Miilley,
where it receives vefTels of conliderable burthen,
and proceeding on about ten miles farther, dif-
charges itfelf into the ocean at Harwich.

The hunt has been eftablifhed about feven
years, and we run no rilk of being contradidted
when we fay, that, with regard to the excellence
pf the hounds, the regulations, and the manage-
ment of the pack, which coniifts of 36 couple,
4 it

340 AN ACCOUNT OF DOG KENNELS,

it is inferior to none, of limilar magnitude, in
the kingdom.

Situated on the borders of two counties abound-
ing with excellent covers, and every way well cal-
culated for fox-hunting, the worthy baronet,
greatly efleemed by the neighbouring gentry, and
beloved by a numerous and refpe6lable tenantry,
proves himfelf a true defcendant of Nimrod;
while his lady, in the prime and bloom of life,
adorned with every female virtue and accomplifh-
ment, and not lefs efteemed and beloved by all
ranks of people than her hufband, frequently en-
joys with him the fports of the field, and con-
vinces the world that the moft delicate habits of
thinking and ailing are not incompatible with
being charmed with the mufic of the hounds,
the delights of the chace, and the health-giving
exercife of equeftrian diverfions.

FINIS,