NIMRO&S NORTHERN TOUR. 257 



to induce them to devote the day to any other purpose, inasmuch 

 as locality has so much to do with the state of the surface of the 

 ground, as regards frost. At Burnside, fifteen miles distant, 

 although farther from the sea, there was on this morning very 

 little sign of frost, neither was there any worth speaking of at 

 the place of meeting, and Mr. Dalyell had a beautiful twenty-five 

 minutes to ground.* 



The morning of this day was passed, as it usually is in the 

 house of a sportsman in which sportsmen are assembled first, 

 with a lounge in the stables, next a peep into the newspapers, 

 and after luncheon a walk. The walk, however, I dispensed 

 with, not being provided with shoes equal to resist snow water, 

 but I repented having so done, when I found that the object of 

 it had been to visit the famous promontory on the coast called 

 " Red Head," mentioned by Sir Walter Scott in the Antiquary. 



Saturday, 7. Accompanied by the Arniston party, I hunted 

 this day with the celebrated harriers of Mr. Hay, of Latham 

 Grange (distant four miles), and we surprised the Laird at his 

 breakfast, at the refined hour of eleven, by which time his grand- 

 father would have killed his last hare, and been expecting the 

 dinner bell. Previously to our entering the house, however, I 

 peeped between the palings at the pack. " Surely," said I, " I 

 know these hounds; they are Sir John Dashwood's sort." Now 

 I over-ran the scent here a little ; they are not exactly Sir John 

 Dashwood's sort, but I am quite certain they are Mr. Yeatman's 

 sort, who bred from Sir John's blood, as Mr. Hay informed me 

 he purchased them of a Mr. Vibart, of Amberd House, near 

 Taunton, which is within easy distance of Stock House kennel. 

 I must admit that, up to this time I have never seen a pack of 

 harriers come so near the standard of excellence which Sir 

 John Dashwood's possessed, as one I saw some years back in 

 Mr. Yeatman's possession, and having rather the advantage of 

 Sir John's in power. There were three bitches in Mr. Hay's 



* I received a lesson on this subject, which I am not likely to forget. 

 On the day on which the Warwickshire hounds had the famous run from 

 Epwell House, immortalized in song, my horse went to cover, but I did 

 not go myself, because the ground, where I slept the preceding night, 

 bore the weight of the London waggon in the morning, without receiving 

 an impression from the wheels, and this in the month of December. 

 Now mark the sequel, I slept in the Worcestershire vale, my horse 

 slept on the Oxfordshire hills ; and the cover where the hounds met, was 

 the highest ground of all, which, one would naturally suppose, would 

 have been most acted on by the frost, whereas it proved otherwise, and 

 the hounds threw off at the usual hour. They lay the night before at 

 Edge-hill, which every one knows is very high ground. 



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