ANECDOTE 211 



regiment) went out one morning so very drunk, that 

 he got off his horse in the midst of a thick cover, laid 

 himself down, and went to sleep : he was lost ; nobody 

 knew what was become of him ; and he was at last 

 found in the situation that I have just described. He 

 had, however, great good luck on his side ; for, at the 

 very instant he was found, a fox was halloo'd ; upon 

 which he mounted his horse, rode desperately, killed 

 his fox handsomely, and was forgiven. 



I remember another huntsman silent from a different 

 cause : this was a sulky one. Things did not go on to 

 please him : he therefore alighted from his horse in the 

 middle of a wood, and, as quietly as he could, collected 

 his hounds about him : he then took an opportunity, 

 when the coast was clear, to set off silently, and by 

 himself, for another cover. However, his master, who 

 knew his tricks, sent others after him to brine him 

 back : they found him running a fox most merrily ; and, 

 to his great astonishment, they stopped the hounds, 

 and made him go back along with them. This fellow 

 had often been severely beaten, but was stubborn and 

 sulky to the last. 



To give you an idea, before I quit this subject, how 

 little some people know of fox-hunting, I must tell you, 

 that, not long ago, a gentleman asked me, If I did 

 not send people out the day before, to find where the 

 foxes lay ? 



What relates to the casting of hounds, shall be the 

 subject of my next Letter. 



