126 Recollections of the Vine Htmt. 



tained that she could speak to a lower scent than any 

 hound in his pack, and declared that he had seen 

 frequent instances of it. 



These were the only harriers I ever saw who could 

 be entirely depended on as steady both from rabbit 

 and from fox. Their steadiness from the latter was 

 once put to an extreme and most unfair test. Mr. 

 Mullens had taken out his hounds at the request of 

 some foxhunting gentlemen, who wanted a day's sport. 

 I know not how many were concerned in the trick 

 which I have to relate. I believe that the ringleader 

 was a person who was quite old enough to have known 

 better. A bag-fox was turned down, and hallooed 

 away as if it were a hare : the hounds were laid on 

 the scent, but would have nothing to say to it. Mr. 

 Mullens was for a short time puzzled, exclaiming, 

 ' Well, this must be the worst of all the bad scenting 

 days I ever saw : the hounds cannot even own it.' But 

 he was much too acute a man to be long deceived ; 

 and having discovered the trick, he gave these gentle- 

 men a rebuke at which I think their ears must have 

 tingled. 'You have played me a very unhandsome 

 and very silly trick. You are gentlemen who like fox- 

 hunting. I am a humble old man, whose pleasure it 

 is to amuse myself and my friends with hare-hunting, 

 and I have brought out my hounds at your request. 

 Now it has been my pride to have kept these hounds 

 for twenty years, between two packs of foxhounds, 

 without ever running one of their foxes a yard, or in 

 any way injuring their sport ; but if you had succeeded 

 in making my hounds run this fox, you would not only 

 have undone the labour of my life, but you would 

 have had me disturbing your foxes, and interfering 



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