THE REV. JOHN RUSSELL. 123 



end of the country to the other, finding the 

 kind of man thev had to deal with, and the 

 rare sport he was able to show, by degrees 

 gave up the malpractice to which they had been 

 so long addicted ; and before two years were 

 over, so far from persecuting the fox, many a 

 poor farmer would rather have lost the best 

 sheep in his flock than seen the gallant animal 

 killed in anv fashion except by hounds. 



The influence, indeed, that Russell very 

 soon acquired, not only among the farmers, but 

 the great cover-owners of that country, was 

 quite marvellous ; it was not attributable to 

 territorial or monetary qualifications ; for as all 

 the world knew, he certainly was no Carabbas, 

 nor did the tide of his exchequer ever rise 

 above low-water mark ; but it was entirely due 

 to his manly power as a sportsman, to his acute 

 knowledge of the fox's habits, his mode of 

 getting at him and driving him through the 

 strongest covers, to the fascination of his 

 thrilling cheer, and, above all, to the charm and 

 heartiness of his manners. In truth, the feeling 

 of the farmers towards him amounted almost 

 to a devotion, and he was treated with a kind 

 of hero-worship, as if he were a man formed in 

 a dift'erent mould from other men. 



The following anecdote, kindly contributed 

 bv the Rev. H. Bourchier Wrey, who vouches 

 for its authenticity, affords a strong illustration 



