76 NIMROD'S NORTHERN TOUR. 



were worrying their first fox. One of the field incautiously approach- 

 ing- too near to them, his horse kicked him most violently, and had he 

 struck him an inch higher up, would have killed him on the spot. As it 

 was, the blood appeared through his clothes. Sportsmen cannot be too 

 cautious at this particular moment ; for horses, perfectly quiet at all 

 other times, will kick both horses and hounds as well as men when they 

 smell blood, and their sense of smell is very susceptible to it. 



Sunday, 16. — Hudibras says, when speaking of the English language, 

 that we have *' a suit for holidays, and another for working days." 

 Being now in a country where the Sabbath is spent somewhat differently 

 to what it is in France, I must " hold hard" here and sink hunting. 

 After church then, I walked to Dunse-castle for two purposes ; first — 

 to pay my respects to the worthy inmates of it; and secondly, to have a 

 look at the outside of the house, having only before had occular demon- 

 stration of the inside, which, after all, to one so little versed in architec- 

 tural science as myself, is generally the best in the month of November, 

 and particularly about the hour the dinner bell rings. And this reminds 

 me of a good anecdote respecting Marchmont-house, of which I have 

 just spoken. It was built by the last Earl of Marchmont, who was told 

 that the roughness of its exterior — being of what is called ruple-work— 

 was not suitable to the splendour of its interior. " Perhaps not," said 

 the Peer, who was a wag ; "but 1 mean to live in the inside and 

 not on the outside of my house," But to return to Dunse-castle. It is 

 undoubtedly one of the finest castellated mansions I have ever seen in 

 any country, and the ornaments and figures on the specula, or watch 

 towers, are to my taste singularly elegant and imposing. Conscious, 

 however, of my being a bad hand at describing houses, as well as a very 

 bad judge of the outside of them, your readers shall form their own 



