THE REV. JOHN RUSSELL. 147 



Buck on Alpha, Captain Louis on Harlequin, 

 Coryton on Raven, Harris on Rosabel, and Mr. 

 H. Bourchier Wrey on Bodkin, struggled hard 

 to catch him ; but in vain. He rode like a 

 man, and handled his hounds, according to the 

 opinion of all present, as no one else in Devon 

 could then have done. 



When congratulated on the place he had 

 kept, he jocularly replied, " No wonder, Arthur ; 

 it was your horse ; but they were my own 

 spurs." 



Then, to begin the New Year auspiciously, 

 on the ist of January, 1829, Russell displayed 

 a rare acquaintance with the tactics of a dodging 

 fox ; and a perseverance in pursuing him worthy 

 of a sleuth-hound. Found in Harper Wood, 

 and went away to Abbot's Hill, skirting covers 

 and running a line of inclosures down to the 

 Torridge, which they crossed and re-crossed 

 with slow hunting and an indifferent scent ; 

 Russell very patient, but now and again hazard- 

 ing a wide cast to get, if possible, nearer to his 

 fox. At length, the scent mending, he cheered 

 on his hounds, and catching an occasional view, 

 as the fox dodged over his foiled line, he 

 clapped them on from time to time, forced 

 him into fresh ground, crossed the river again, 

 and at last pulled him down gallantly, after a 

 long and trying chase of two hours and fifteen 

 minutes. 



