340 FIELD AND FERN. 



i* 



Kintore's succeeded him, and was huntsman for 

 eighteen seasons. Captain Wemyss found the 

 horses and Mr. Whyte Melville the hounds. The 

 kennels were at Cupar, and also at Torriburn, 

 twenty-one miles from it, in the west of the country, 

 where the hounds went for three weeks in the 

 autumn, and three weeks in the spring. Dunferm- 

 line was then the head-quarters for the scarlets. In 

 Fife there is a finer scent over the fallows than the 

 grass. The east part is old grass. We could race 

 in the west when the dust was flying, and we could 

 do nothing in the centre or the east. There were 

 great meets in the west, and the foxes never turned 

 their heads. Mr. Ramsay's hunt used to join in 

 then. 



" The whole country is a fine mixture of plough, 

 grass, and sheep-walks. We had some beautiful runs 

 over heather, straight across the Dollar Hills. We 

 had also some rare runs with Walker from Bellistonp 

 Stravithey Gorse, Kidd's Whin, Largo Law, Mount 

 Melville, and Bishop's Gorse. One of our very 

 best was from Scots-Craig, one hour and ten 

 minutes, to Crail. Walker was close on his fox, 

 and they ran him down to the water edge. We saw 

 'Charley's' ears twinkle, and then he swam out to sea 

 150 yards, with the hounds after him, and sank like 

 a stone. The whole body of the pack swam round 

 and round the place where he disappeared, and then 

 gave it up ; but Vaulter stopped and retrieved him. 

 There was always a very large field on the Edinburgh 



