THE SPECIE AL VIEW HOLLOA. 135 



by tlie hounds and owned by me, but we never by 

 any chance could find the fox, or the man who gave 

 the signaL Several tunes men and hounds rushed 

 to the supposed site of the holloa, the hounds cast 

 round in vain, vain too the question called by me, 

 as to " who had holloed." This ghostly holloa 

 began to assume an unearthly character, but as I 

 am not much given to superstition, I charged all 

 whom I could trust to watch and discover whence 

 this intangible summons proceeded. It never hap- 

 pened twice the same day, or on succeeding days ; it 

 was only an occasional event, about once in three 

 fixtures. Nevertheless, it caused me much uneasi- 

 ness, and deceived my hounds. Still the ghostly cry 

 was persisted in undetected, as to the perpetrator of 

 it, by us all. At about the time of its usual occur- 

 rence, I was in a quarter of low cover in the chase 

 before the leaf was off, and some hounds of whom I 

 was not quite sure, were feathering as if on a fox 

 close around my horse's legs. For a moment or two 

 I had been silent, and during that silence the loud 

 shrill view holloa startled the air around me ; and 

 looking to the side whence it seemed to proceed, and 

 not more than thirty yards from me, there sat the 

 stout yeomanly farmer before alluded to, on his face 

 a most excited expression. It seemed that the first 

 holloa had not met with its usual success of a " hark 

 holloa" from me; for while I looked at him he stood 

 in his stirrups and gave a second, tickling his sides 

 and rubbing his nose in delight at the confusion he now 

 heard among the galloping feet of horses. My spurs 

 were soon felt by my horse, and charging up to him 

 with the thong doubled, I cried, " You rascal, I have 

 got you." I confess that my whip was raised, when, 



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