226 THE NOBLE SCIENCE. 



throughout the whole " Diary of a Huntsman." In 

 expressing my most unquahfied rejection of such hypo- 

 thesis, it will be necessary to follow closely the line of 

 argument adduced in its support. Mr. Smith com- 

 mences his observations on scent, after the account of 

 a famous run which he attributes to the circumstance of 

 a fox having luckily found the earth stopped that he 

 had tried at starting. He proceeds to say, " It will, pro- 

 bably, be noticed, that, in the above run, the scent was 

 good, which, of course, a fox must be aware of, as he lives 

 by hunting; and this was, probably, the cause of his 

 trying to go to ground." I have before alluded to what 

 appears to me another most mistaken notion, or, at all 

 events, one which is not so supported as to have a claim 

 to general credence. I then stated some reasons for 

 believing a fox (in choice of ground, &c.) to be totally 

 unconscious of the scent which he leaves. I think it 

 nothing extraordinary that a fox, disturbed by a " roar 

 in his kennel," should seek the sanctuary of his earth, 

 without pausing to consider whether the scent was 

 bad enough to admit of his trusting his precious car- 

 case to the open air. Possibly, while taking his siesta, 

 he might have dreamed of a good scent — might have 

 had a night-mare, from visions of former cub-hunting 

 in darkness ; but if he were so wonderful a product of 

 his species, that upon his conquest the huntsman could 

 exclaim, " Ve?ii, vidi, vici" — " Now, I don't care if I 



