r.EMINISCENCES OF A HUNTSMAN. 115 



called Hannah, who came to me astray, to Mr. Os- 

 baldeston's kennel, under Jack Stephens, to a hound 

 called Furrier, or to any he recommended, if Furrier 

 was too niucli engaged. She bred me three puppies, 

 who turned out very well ; they were by Chorister, 

 and, as I expected from what I had heard, with plenty 

 of flying straightneckedness, to make her progeny lift 

 their heads when the scent served. 



I think my kennel doors showed the scalps of four- 

 teen brace of foxes at the close of the first season ; and 

 the season over, I amused myself with fishing, hay- 

 making, preserving game, rounding the puppies, and 

 exercising my hounds. I remember, one beautiful 

 summer's night, being awakened by the challenge, the 

 hunting challenge of hounds, not the bay of the bitches 

 that were in hutches with their whelps, but the tongue 

 of a hound on scent. At first, I thought I must have 

 dreamed it ; but on listening, I heard a hound dis- 

 tinctly speak to a scent ; he was then joined by the 

 tongues of several others, the cry at the same time 

 moving from place to place. I got up directly, as 

 none of mv men lived near, and went forth ; the fun 

 was all over when I got out, and one or two of the 

 bitches bayed me till they found out their friend, and 

 then the first who jumped upon me saturated my 

 dressinjTf-irown with water. The next and the next 

 who came up were similarly wet, and one or two were 

 panting ; I therefore saw and felt that their chase had 

 taken them through the river. I could not compre- 

 hend it ; but having quieted them, and seen them to 

 their hutches with their whelps, I went to bed again. 

 For some little time I did not hear any more of this 

 niglit-w^ork ; but still in the morning I found the 

 bitches sleepy, and as if tired, and also that they were 



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