NIMROD'S NORTHERN TOUR. 233 



leave to introduce JVimrod to you," said Mr. Whyte Melville. The 

 captain having drawn himself up, as straight as a fugleman upon parade 

 — brought his right hand to his head by a slow, but very graceful semi- 

 circular motion of the right arm, took off his hat, and nearly prostrating' 

 himself to the earth, (his hat, indeedj did touch it,) made me a most 

 respectful obeisance. As I was upon my hack, I could not offer him the 

 salaam in return ; but the effect of this extraordinary reception was 

 greatly increased by the accompaniment of a look he cast upon Mr. 

 Whyte Melville at the moment, which was as much as to say — was not 

 that well done ? Now it really was well done ; and done, I have reason 

 to believe, in perfect good feeling to all parties concerned. But this 

 justifies me in saying the captain is a character, of which I shall 

 presently have to offer some still better proof. 



But I must not get a- head of my subject, and shall therefore make a 



cast back, and present my readers with all I know of the origin of the 



Fife hounds. They were originally established on a small scale by the 



late Mr. Anstruther Thompson, of Charlton, who kept them for several 



years, and then presented them as a gift to the resident gentlemen of the 



county, by whom they were kept, as a subscription pack, until the year 



1809 or 1810. At this period, James Horn Rigg, Esq., of Tavit, 



purchased them, together with the kennel stud, at a valuation, and 



hunted them himself for three seasons, when they again became the 



property of the gentlemen of the county, but still remaining under his 



(Mr. Rigg's) management, with a huntsman whose name was Luke, 



until the year 1828, when he went to reside on the Continent, and they 



have remained a subscription pack to this day. The amount of the 



subscription is, I was given to understand, upwards of £1,3 00 per annum, 



which may be called equal to £2,000 in times not long since gone by. 



2 H 



