90 5ri)e Career of a ^pur. 



happened all through that confounded old woodman 

 at Bushey Furlongs having neglected to trim up his 

 rides and rackways as he should have done. The 

 hazel boughs and briars completely met across many 

 of them, and poor old Jem did "cuss" alarming as 

 he threaded his way through the dripping leafy covert 

 with head inclined and up-turned collar. 



There was a scent though that morning, and the 

 bitches had been bustling a fine healthy litter of 

 cubs about pretty briskly for some time ere Charley, 

 the first whip, gave a holloa, which made even the 

 underbred little cub hunter Jem then bestrode prick 

 up his slouching and usually indifferent roan ears. 



'' Come up," says the guv'nor ; and through the 

 brushwood we poundered as best we could, for that 

 holloa he well knew signified that a cub was ''away," 

 and Jem was always an undeniable quick 'un to get 

 to his hounds. With what a crackling of thorns and 

 crumbling of soil did we quit the wood that morning, 

 to be sure ! I quite thought the clumsy little roan 

 was down as he landed, after a scramble, with his 

 fore feet in the field beyond, and his hind ones in the 

 ditch. An entangled cluster of woodbine made me 

 droop my swan-like neck, and an ungiving binder, 

 alas ! quite succeeded in tearing in two the weather- 

 beaten strap which the clinging briars had previously 

 nearly severed from my less fortunate fellow. I could 



