ii6 MEMOIR OF 



get-at-able bv him, but rarely drawn by them — 

 Russell, rather than incur such odium, appealed 

 point blank to Mr. Newton Fellowes and Mr. 

 Glubb, both of whom readily and kindly con- 

 curred in granting him the favour he asked ; 

 namely, a slice of their respective countries on 

 either side of Iddesleigh. By that cession, 

 which, with his little pack, proved to be a suffi- 

 ciently ample one, he found, as he described it, 

 " flinging room both for himself and hounds." 



But notwithstanding the unexampled sport 

 he was able to show with his first scratch lot, 

 some of which were mute and some too free of 

 tongue, many given to riot, to skirting and other 

 hereditary faults, he was not long in discovering 

 that he had still an uphill game to play in at- 

 tempting to establish an independent dynasty in 

 that country. 



The sport of legitimate fox-hunting being 

 utterly ignored by a majority of the natives, it 

 had long been, and still was, their practice to 

 kill a fox whenever and however they could 

 catch him, fulfilling to the letter the sentiments 

 of the Highland chieftain — 



"Who ever reck'd, where, how, or when, 

 The prowHng fox was trapp'd or slain ? " 



In fact, to such an extent did this practice pre- 

 vail, that for the first season or two, owing to 

 the scarcity of foxes, Russell was compelled to 

 adopt the primitive plan of hunting both fox 



