96 NIMROUS NORTHERN TOUR. 



astonishing bit of wire a sort of genus per se and the king of 

 Scotch servants." No doubt he bears the palm. 



To draw a man's physical and moral portrait on one and the 

 same page is no easy task, nevertheless so signal a character, 

 and one so universally known throughout Scotland and indeed 

 throughout England, as Williamson's, cannot be passed over by 

 me with merely a common notice. It may, however, be said, I 

 shall colour the picture too highly, and subject myself to the 

 charge of flattery. To this I have an answer at command : If 

 a man deserves praise, we cannot refuse it him without injustice ; 

 but he who expects it on any other terms, demands what he has 

 no claim to at all events he will never receive it at my hands. 

 And I have other reasons for dwelling a little on this individual 

 point. I have ever been an admirer of a vigorous, even if it be 

 an unpolished, style of writing or speaking; and there is a 

 singular perspicuity of expression in the person upon whom I am 

 now commenting, that I know not when I met with before. It 

 has been justly remarked of Homer, that what he says he says 

 properly ; and without the abatement of a fraction, the compli- 

 ment may be transferred to Williamson. Having said this, it 

 may well be imagined that I gladly availed myself of his invita- 

 tion to an' arm-chair in his parlour, with the prospect of an hour 

 or two's conversation with him on subjects which have ever been 

 most interesting to me. 



Our walk through the kennels and stables having occupied all 

 the forenoon, it was now two o'clock, and in five minutes after- 

 wards Williamson's roast beef appeared on the table. Now, 

 although I was engaged to dine at Kelso at seven, there was no 

 resisting that, and down we sat to it tete-a-tete in good earnest. 

 Here then \v.as an opportunity that might never occur to me 

 again of strengthening or refuting my opinions on matters re-~ 

 lating to the chase, and in the course of our conversation I ques- 

 tioned him on the following points : First on the value of what 

 is called blood to hounds ? and his answer delighted me, by 

 reason of its being so entirely in accordance with my own, which 

 has already been made public. " I think," said he, " blood is of 

 the utmost importance to the well-doing of fox-hounds, if had 

 whilst the stimulus of the chase is existing, but of little or none 

 afterwards. I consider it very satisfactory, consequently very 

 beneficial to hounds to mark their fox to ground ; and am in- 

 clined to believe, that a repetition of losing their foxes, makes 

 hounds slack, with an indifferent scent." 



Secondly To the question of whether large or small hounds 

 were preferable : he thus judiciously replied, " The choice 

 somewhat depends on the nature of the country they are wanted 



