REMINISCENCES 



A rather amusing incident occurred some years 

 ago when we were whipping-in to the now 

 disbanded Lake District Otterhounds. Whilst 

 waiting at Lakeside for the boat that runs up 

 Lake Windermere, a char-a-banc load of trippers 

 arrived, to whom the sight of a pack of otter- 

 hounds was evidently a novelty. Before we 

 knew what was happening, the crowd of sight- 

 seers had formed a ring round hounds, each 

 member of the party producing a song book. 

 There then rose on the air the well-known refrain 

 " John Peel." The old huntsman listened whilst 

 they sang the first verse, then suddenly exclaimed 

 " Give it more weft ! give it more weft ! J Isaac 

 evidently thought that their efforts compared 

 badly with the way in which the old song is sung 

 by fox-hunters in Cumberland or Westmorland. 



In addition to being the least artificial of our 

 British field sports, otter-hunting affords unrivalled 

 opportunities for those who love to watch the work 

 of hounds. It is more popular now than it ever 

 was, yet there is still ample room for many more 



