THE NOBLE SCIENCE. 245 



sition of the article I am now remarking on— a mixture 

 of Mr. Smith's own composition ? Nimrod, has very 

 lately addressed a letter to the Editor of BelVs Life, 

 complaining bitterly of the manner in which his writ- 

 ings have been distorted, in consequence of his not 

 having the opportunity of correcting the errors of the 

 press. 



It is possible that this Glossary may have been sub- 

 jected to a similar disadvantage ; I did not hesitate 

 upon the prima facie evidence of the robbery and mur- 

 der committed upon the body of the word. Tally-ho ! to 

 give a verdict against some poor devil of a printer ; and 

 well-knowing that these functionaries are not always 

 particular to a T, I had no doubt that the word cover, 

 which occurs so frequently (a word which I had never 

 seen in sporting sense, unless with regard to a certain 

 description of horses), was intended to be read, covert. 

 This idea is borne out by the Glossary, which, instead of 

 Dr. Johnson's definition of the word, cover, " anything 

 that is laid over another," describes a cover, as " any 

 wood, &c., which will hold a fox." It is merely doub- 

 ling the extension of such an allowance, to lead us to 

 the supposition, that, amidst the dross of the printing- 

 house, this ''metal" may have been confounded with 

 the mettle which may occasion hounds, when very fresh, 

 to "fly for a short distance on a wrong scent." The 



