54 EEMINISCENCES OF A HUNTSMAN. 



remember hearing the late Dr. Jenner say, that in the 

 whole range of his experience, he never met with a 

 case of great or remarkable longevity, unless the pa- 

 tient had made use of tobacco in one shape or the 

 other, in smoking, in chewing, or in snuff. I have 

 heard of a funny accident happening to a colonel in 

 the Guards, who ought to have borne in mind the 

 safety of a powder-magazine, from a cigar when out 

 shooting. He was sitting under a bank after lunch, 

 with a lighted cigar in his mouth ivith a red-hot ash 

 to it half an inch long ; pulling out his powder-flask, 

 and unscrewing the top, he looked in to see how much 

 powder he had got, totally forgetting that when he 

 put the magazine up to his eye, his additional beak, 

 with the light at the end of it, would be sure to go in 

 and set fire to it. Up it went, with an explosion most 

 terrific, tumbling the keepers over in fright, sending 

 the retriever after something the dog supposed must 

 have been killed in the other world, and rainghng 

 partridges, beer, and bread and cheese in a confused 

 heap : his eyebrow and whisker the only things singed. 

 A cigar, on some men, acts as a quieter of the nerves, 

 and gives them what with drink would be called 

 " Dutch courage." When my hounds have first spoken 

 to a fox in cover, rap went the pommels of saddles, flash, 

 flash, flash the lights ; " Give me a light, old fellow," 

 said one, " Your flask," said another, each feeling that 

 they needed artificial rousing. For myself, I never 

 would resort to this ; but when I found the nerves I 

 used to have over a country failing, I was content with 

 those that still stood by me, and with these I saw, and 

 on good horses could still see, a deal of fun. Old 

 Billv Butler, of Dorset renown, the last, I believe, of 

 the old style of port-drinking, hunting and sporting 



