The Men. 59 



sibly cope with. Amidst all this disturbance, how- 

 ever, George's fine ear could distinguish Larkspur, 

 throwing his tongue from time to time on the drag of 

 a fox : to this he was giving his full attention, cheer- 

 ing the old hound, and trying to get the others up to 

 him : but his master persisted in riding close to him, 

 and pestering him with ill-timed questions — ' George, 

 is that right ? What hound is that ? Will it do, 

 George ? ' — till the man, not unreasonably provoked, 

 retorted, ' How can I tell unless I listen ? and how 

 am I to listen if you keep chattering so ? Do be quiet 

 for a minute. You make a worse noise to-day than 

 ever you did.' 



I may add that these words were also heard by 

 Mr. Villebois, who told me afterwards the following 

 circumstance connected with them, Mr. Chute had 

 begun that season with remarkable success, having 

 killed many foxes with short quick runs. A gentle- 

 man, a great champion of the hunt, who had a habit 

 of speaking of the pack almost as if it was his own, 

 had boasted of this to Mr. Villebois, saying, ' You 

 really ought to come and look at tis : we are got to 

 such a pitch of perfection that we cannot lose a fox! 

 * Well,' said Villebois, with his peculiar look, when re- 

 lating this to me, * this made me open my eyes, for I 

 had hunted in Hampshire for twenty years, and I had 

 always found it easy enough to lose a fox : so I went 

 to Blackwood to have a look at these invincibles ; and 

 you well remember that what we learned there was 

 only what we knew before — our good old friend's easy 

 temper, and the way in which his servants take ad- 

 vantage of it.' I cannot help adding, however, in 

 justice to the gentleman who had boasted of the pack, 



