20 "HOUNDS, GENTLEMEN, PLEASE!" 



country crossed by the horsemen, and almost always 

 scent appeared queer and catchy, while invariably one 

 heard cries going about such as " Hold hard ! " " Give 

 'em room ! " " There's not an atom of scent," &c. Mr. 

 Langrishe, however, always seemed quite alive to the 

 state of the case, and without actually lifting and 

 unsettling hounds seemed to get them along fast by 

 cheery encouragement, till either the road was crossed 

 or the fox had turned clear of the strip of ground we 

 had used on our way to covert, when the game would 

 begin in earnest. 



There was a good gorse covert about three hundred 

 yards from my house some years ago, which seldom 

 was drawn blank. It was situated among large, flat 

 fields, which were very difficult to keep clear of folk 

 on a hunting morning, and it was often remarked to 

 me when a fox went away to the north towards the 



avenues, that there never was any scent at G . 



When we ran a fox into the place, however, I never 

 noticed any slackening of the pace or alteration of 

 scent ; but people seemed slow to believe that by dally- 

 ing on horseback in the neighbourhood of the fox 

 covert, they not only stood a chance of giving its 

 inmates a hint to leave, but also were foiling the 

 ground for the hounds. 



Instances could easily be multiplied, but enough has 

 been said to make out a plea for hounds at the start. 

 If there is a scent you will know it soon enough, and 

 there may be a scent three hundred yards from the 

 covert, though there be none close round it. 



