VAKIETY. 215 



be also indebted to my worthy pedagogue for a 

 cool head, as he was always most energetic in the 

 administration of latent heat to its antipodes. Poor 

 old gentleman! the gentle exercise amused him 

 and never harmed me; and all his old pupils still 

 in the flesh will bear me out in my assertion that 

 he never spoiled a child by sparing the rod. I 

 have a reason for going back to those days, 

 gentle reader, for this morning, whilst looking 

 over my log to find some sporting incident worthy 

 of record, my eye caught the word variety, 

 and immediately the old adage I used to copy in 

 bold round hand flashed across my mind, and I 

 bethought me that there had been but little of 

 that charming quality in my yarns of late, they 

 having always related to the hunting of wild 

 beasts. I turned over page after page without 

 finding anything appropriate, until I came upon 

 the following adventure, which I transcribe, as it 

 gives the fox's account of a hard run, or hunting 

 looked upon in a new light. 



In the early part of the summer of 1854, before 

 ' any actual fighting had taken place between Russia 



