246 THOUGHTS ON HUNTING 



usual, and were immediately carried, by the rapidity 

 of the current, a long way down the stream. The 

 huntsman was far behind them ; and, as he could 

 advance but slowly, he was constrained to see his 

 hounds wear themselves out in a useless contention 

 with the current, from their efforts to get to him. It 

 was a shocking scene ! many of the hounds, when 

 they reached the shore, had entirely lost the use of 

 their limbs ; for it froze, and the cold was intolerable : 

 some lay as if they were dead, and others reeled as 

 if they had been drinking wine. Our ill-luck was not 

 yet complete : the weakest hounds, or such as were 

 most affected by the cold, we now saw entangled in 

 the tops of the hedges, and heard their lamentations. 

 Well-known tongues ! and such as I had never heard 

 before without pleasure. It was painful to see their 

 distress, and not know how to relieve it. A number 

 of people, by this time, were assembled near the 

 river-side ; but there was not one amongst them that 

 would venture in. However, a guinea, at last, 

 tempted one man to fetch out a hound that was 

 entangled in a bush, and would otherwise have 

 perished. Two hounds remained upon a hedge all 

 night ; and, though at a considerable distance from 

 each other when we left them, yet they got together 

 afterwards ; and the next morning, when the flood 

 abated, they were found closely clasping each other : 

 without doubt, it was the friendly warmth which they 

 afforded each other that kept both alive. We lost 

 but one hound by this unlucky expedition, but could 

 not save any of our terriers. They were seen to sink, 



