THE NOBLE SCIENCE. 227 



why should it not fall equally upon the most arid soil ? 

 But I am willing to admit that there are instances of the 

 total absence of dew after the hottest days ; in short, I 

 do not pretend to the proof of my position, or offer 

 more than my own inference from observation upon a 

 point which has puzzled philosophers. All I mean to 

 say is, that the top of a gate may be wet with dew, and 

 the under side dry, without any proof that some under- 

 current of air did not assist the rapid ascent of the dew, 

 till, after attaining a certain elevation, it could make a 

 deposit upon the gate-top. 



At all events, I will take upon myself to say, that 

 dew, whether it rises or falls, can have no prejudicial 

 effect upon scent. If dew is to be taken as an excuse 

 for the loss of an afternoon fox, there can be little use 

 in cub-hunting of an evening, or in turning out in the 

 middle of the night solely with the hope of avaiHng 

 ourselves of its moisture. 



I must not be supposed, in these comments upon 

 The Diarij of a Huntsman, to be actuated by any 

 desire of detracting from its manifold merits. In the 

 notice which I must necessarily take of a contemporary 

 authority, it would be misplaced courtesy towards the 

 writer, injustice to my own work, and to the purpose to 

 which it is devoted, if I shrank from contesting opinions 

 to which I could not conscientiously subscribe. 



Totally divested of any invidious and unworthy feel- 

 ing, utterly regardless of the channel through which any 

 new ideas might flow, looking to the interests of " the 



15—2 



