N1M ROD'S NORTHERN TOUR. 117 



for myself, and we immediately proceeded to business, accom- 

 panied by the lady of the house, who rode elegantly and well, upon 

 a thoroughly broke horse, but only as an amateur, at a distance. 



Being splendidly mounted on one of the duke's own horses 

 again, and I believe the best fencer in his stables* I was sorely 

 disappointed at the unfavourable result of this promising day; 

 for old Phoebus had disappeared, and it had every sign of a 

 hunting one. The hounds divided on two scents at starting, and 

 although we run one fox to ground at double quick time, there 

 was too much of the " short and sweet " about the thing to be 

 satisfactory, unless it were to the horses. We had a sharp burst 

 with another fox, which also went to ground ; but this was not 

 comme il faut; for although the leading hounds could run hard, 

 the body of the pack could not at times run up, for the want of 

 a holding scent. All this must have been very annoying to the 

 duke, it being the first and only day's hunting he allowed himself 

 in that week ; and he was mounted on Jemmy, of whom I have 

 spoken as a particularly clever thorough-bred horse, and all over 

 a hunter. Frank Collison was on old Alphabet again, looking; 

 ready for business, and I intended having an eye to him, in con- 

 sideration of former experience of him in the field. 



Our hacks being at St. BoswelPs where Mr. Callander's 

 horse lay the preceding night we returned home with the 

 hounds ; saw them put into their kennels ; sat half an hour with 

 Williamson, talking over the occurrences of the day ; and after 

 refreshing ourselves with a glass of his " Who the devil sent you 

 this?" mounted our hacks, and after a pitch-dark ride, got te 

 Kelso to our dinner about seven. We lived in clover, for inde- 

 pendently of the good things provided by Peter, or at least by 

 his master, we had a succession of game and fruit from Preston- 

 hall, the fine seat of Mr. Callander, whose gardens are, I believe, 

 not to be excelled in Scotland. The use of the hunt room also, 

 affording a retiring room for the ladies in the apartments occu- 

 pied by the party previously to my joining them, rendered the 

 tout ensemble so complete, that we might have almost made 

 ourselves believe we were actually living at Preston-hall, instead 

 of at this very excellent inn. 



Neither were our evenings wanting in the accomplishments of 

 domestic life. When we joined the ladies in their drawing-roon\ 

 after a temperate enjoyment of the bottle, we found Mrs. Callan- 



* When riding this horse on another occasion, a farmer thus ad 

 dressed me : " You are riding the highest leaper in all Scotland. T* 

 see the walls Mr. Ogilvie" (his former owner) " used to ride that horse 

 over, would have terrified any common mind" 



