NIMROD'S NORTHERN TOUR, 117 



be so. But my reception by the pack was by no means a gratifyino- 

 one. Whether or not, Hke Homer's dogs*, their power of instinct ena- 

 bled them to determine the nature of the spirit that was come amono-st 

 them, I am unable to say ; but this much I know, — the bristles of several 

 stood erect, as they surrounded me on the road; and but for Williamson's 

 ^^ Have a care, Lucy,'' and a smack of his whip, a fine lemon-pied bitch 

 of that name would certainly have had a taste of my haunch, if nothino- 

 more, I considered this rather a rare occurrence; for although fox-hounds 

 should not be approached by strang"ers, without caution, in their kennel, 

 they are, generally speaking, the most inoffensive animals of their entire 

 species when out of it— that is to say, to man. 



On our arrival at the kennel, the whole pack were twice walked 

 through the wash-pool in the yard, and after allowing a certain time for 

 them to lick themselves dry, they were drawn by Williamson to the 

 troughs and fed — and having said by whom fed, I need not add in a 

 very workmanlike manner. This wash-pool is now becoming pretty 

 general in kennels, and an excellent expedient I take it to be. By pre- 

 venting hounds carrying wet dirt and dry mud with them into their beds, 

 it conduces greatly to cleanliness, and is considered a preservative from 

 what is called kennel-lameness. At all events, there was not in this 

 kennel, on the day on which I visited it, one single instance of that 

 destructive disease. The benefit to the feet is self-evident, as the tongue 

 is the dog's doctor for all slight excoriations, to which their feet are so 

 liable, in their work. 



A walk through the St. Boswell's stables was to me a high treat, par- 

 ticularly so as I was given to understand that in them the system I have 



* Odyssey — Lib. xv. 



