8o MEMOIR OF 



Knowstone and South Molton, where Russell 

 then lived, are, more or less, about ten miles 

 apart ; but as now, so then, whenever the hounds 

 met, whether on his side of the country or on 

 the other, neither the most inclement weather 

 nor the longest distance to cover seemed ever 

 to cause him a moment's hesitation. 



In a letter Russell addressed to an old 

 friend, he says : — 



" My head-quarters at that time were at 

 South Molton ; and I hunted as many days in 

 every week as my duties would permit with 

 John Froude, the well-known vicar of Know- 

 stone, with whom I was then on very intimate 

 terms. 



"His hounds were something out of the 

 common ; bred from the old staghounds — light 

 in their colour, and sharp as needles — plenty of 

 tongue, but would drive like furies. I have 

 never seen a better or more killing pack in all 

 my long life. He couldn't bear to see a hound 

 put his nose on the ground and ' twiddle his 

 tail.' ' Hang the brute,' he would say to the 

 owner of the hounds, ' and get those that can 

 wind their game when they are thrown off.' 



" Froude was himself a first-rate sportsman ; 

 but always acted on the principle of ' kill un, if 

 you can ; you'll never see un again.' 



" I saw him once shoot a hare sitting near 

 a farmhouse where his hounds met on the 



