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at the death, the hounds turning in my favour, and saw 

 them catch him in a hedgerow, along with Charlie, Gars- 

 den, Jack Thompson, and Frank Davenport. It was a 

 capital day's sport How Jack did ride and bustle 

 along that day. My horse was nearly beat. 



May I say a word about parsons hunting ? A 

 man has no right to neglect his parish, or run into debt, 

 but if he can hunt without doing either of these things, 

 I cannot see the harm. Since I married I have, for 

 pecuniary reasons, given up hunting, but I am quite 

 sure of this, that neither my pupils or my parish are so 

 well looked after as when I hunted. I lack energy. 

 Hunting does put such life into you. The energy that 

 you have to use in hunting seems to pervade all your 

 other work. My dear father, H. O. Coxe, Bodley's 

 librarian, and rector of Wytham, always had a few half- 

 days every season, and no man ever worked harder or 

 was more loved in his generation. I cannot think it 

 wrong. I do think it wrong to run into debt, and, 

 therefore, I find an oak walking-stick cheaper to keep 

 than a hunter, and the bootmaker's bill less than the 

 blacksmith's. 



HiLGEOVE Coxe, 



Jan. 28th, 1884. 



THE OLD HOUND. 



My brave old hound, my bonny old hound, 



Here's a health, here's a health to thee ! 

 And as years roll round mayest thou still be found 



Alongside in the chase with me. 

 Many's the day we have hunted away. 



And many's the track we have set ; 

 And now I am told that thou art grown old — 



But there 's life in the old Hound yet. 



