330 THE POST AND THE PADDOCK. 



William's blood, was to the late Tom Carter's father. 

 In fact, when the latter had ridden over for a few 

 days' stay with Lord Scarboro's huntsman, he would 

 put down his glass in an evening, and shout, "Ranger! 

 hoy I Ranger !" unceasingly for as long as a short 

 burst. Fifty years since, the noted Bill Gaff hunted 

 them, and at that time they went one week out of 

 the four, during the season, to the Woore kennels, 

 with a host of scarlets in their train. There was 

 very little bed for Bill that week, but he used to 

 snatch some two or three hours from his pipe and 

 his blue ruin, of which he could drink enough to 

 float a man of war, and turn out with his boots oiled, 

 and himself "all right," at cockcrow. Sir Peter 

 Warburton, of Arley Hall, was then the master; his 

 hounds were large and slashing, and his glass of ale 

 the best in the county. The runs used to be of im- 

 mense length. One day they gave up so far from 

 home, that Gaff, having a fixture on the Forest early 

 next day, took the freshest horse, and went back 

 during the night, leaving the wearied whips and 

 hounds to follow at leisure. Having no other re- 

 source, he thrust the boiler into -a red coat, and the 

 pair found a fox with the second pack, and killed him 

 at Bryn-y-pys, after a regular crow-flight of twenty- 

 five miles. Luckily the puppies were out at walk 

 when the madness occurred in the kennel, some four- 

 teen years ago ; and as twenty-five couple were en- 

 tered the next season, the original blood was kept 

 right. For many weeks, watchers with long leathern 

 gauntlets and badger tongs held their dull sentry, 

 night after night, to drag out each hound to his 

 doom the moment he showed any symptoms. Each 

 of them was then chained in a separate kennel ; but 

 the subtle poison crept on and on, and at last sixty 

 couple of working hounds, as clever and bony as any 

 in England, had to be destroyed. The shooting days 

 of a noble racing earl among his thorough-breds, was 



