168 THOUGHTS ON HUNTING 



scent ; and, besides the certainty of going right, you 

 probably will get on faster than you would by any 

 other means. 



That halloos are not always to be depended on, 

 will be sufficiently evinced by the following instances : 



My hounds being at a long fault, a fellow halloo'd 

 to them from the top of a rick at some distance off. 

 The huntsman, as you may believe, stuck spurs to his 

 horse, halloo'd till he was almost hoarse, and got to 

 the man as quickly as he could : the man still kept 

 hallooing ; and, as the hounds got near him, " Here" 

 said he — "here — here the fox is gone." "Is he far 

 before us ?" cried the huntsman. "How long ago was 

 it that you saw him ?" " No, master, I have not seen 

 him ; but I smelt him here this morning, when I came 

 to serve my sheep." 



Another instance was this : — We were trying with 

 some deer-hounds for an out-lying stag, when we saw a 

 fellow running towards us in his shirt : we immediately 

 concluded that we should hear some news of the stag, 

 and set out joyfully to meet him. Our first question 

 was, If he had seen the stag? " No, Sir, I have not 

 seen him, but my wife dreamt as how she saw him 

 t other night." 



Once a man halloo'd us back a mile, only to tell us 

 that we were right before, and we lost the fox by it. 



A gentleman, seeing his hounds at fault, rode up to 

 a man at plough, and with great eagerness asked him, 

 If he had seen the fox. " The fox, Sir ?" " Yes, d — n 

 you, the fox ! — did you never see a fox ?" " Pray, Sir, 

 if I may be so bould, what sort of a looking creature 



