66 NIMROD'S HUNTING TOUR 



he had killed his fox, he carried home his head as a trophy, in spite 

 of all attempts to make him drop it. I afterwards saw a brother to 

 him (Caliban), a very fine hound, but I understood not quite so true 

 on his line. 



It has not always been supposed that gentlemen huntsmen are 

 the best. Perhaps it may be on the principle, that those are not fit 

 to command who have not been accustomed to obey. Having heard 

 much of Colonel Wyndham's performance, I was anxious to witness 

 it, so followed him, in drav^^ing, through many rough coverts. I 

 was much pleased with the quiet manner of himself and his men, 

 and his hounds were particularly steady, and drew as if they meant 

 to find. Unfortunately, however, they drew a long time blank ; 

 and, what was still more unfortunate, when we did find, only seven 

 of eight out of this large field got away with the hounds ; and, from 

 the severity of the pace, aiid the extreme depth of the country — 

 some of it approaching to bog — catching them was out of the 

 question. They, however, caught their fox at the end of an hour 

 and twenty minutes, just as he had reached an earth, and was on 

 the point of creeping up the bank to enter it, when he fell back 

 among the pack and was killed. 



On the following day (the 26th), I met the East Sussex Subscrip- 

 tion Pack at Clayton Cross, also six miles from Brighton on the 

 other London road, and, after drawing blank the side of some hills 

 (over which the Brighton shepherd would have beaten all the horses 

 in the field), we descended into the vale, to the adjoining coverts to 

 those w^hich we had drawn the day before with Colonel Wyndham. 

 This vale forms part of the Weald of Sussex — a country much 

 resembling parts of Shropshire, with the exception of its being much 

 worse farmed, draining being miserably neglected. It is true that 

 the nature of this land, being a loamy clay on the surface, with 

 inferior strata of strong brick earth, is friendly to retention of water, 

 yet I perceived that where nature pointed out the remedy no 

 advantage w^as taken. 



We continued drawing blank through this ungentlemanlike 

 country till three o'clock, when, being in a strange land, and evening 

 approaching, I turned my face homewards. As I was crawling up 

 a sheep track on the opposite hills, in a direction for Brigh^ion, I 



