152 KEMINISCENCES OF A HUNTSMAN. 



That instant I put a pair of couples round his neck, 

 and placed him apart from all the rest, giving him 

 at the same time a gentle dose of physic in case the 

 apparent dulness or drooping was occasioned by pass- 

 ing indisposition. Several times during that day I 

 visited him, and towards the evening the hound be- 

 came decidedly dull and out of all spirits, but without 

 showing any other symptom of distress ; this might 

 have been occasioned by the physic, but still I had 

 other apprehensions. On the following morning the 

 hound was gloomy, dejected, and had a heavy look 

 about the eyes ; he knew me and wagged his stern 

 when I spoke to him, and fed a little, and also drank 

 water, but not more than a lap or two. In the even- 

 ing of that day he rejected both food and water; 

 still there are phases of the distemper so like hydro- 

 phobia that I hoped for the best, though my sus- 

 picions were of the worst description. The following 

 morning cleared up every doubt upon the subject: 

 the hound at first became ill at ease and could not 

 sleep, he moaned occasionally, and his eyes had a 

 greenish-glassy or shining appearance, when sub- 

 jected to the reflection of light, much as one has seen 

 a fox's eyes look in the dark in a short earth or 

 drain, when gazing towards the orifice by which he 

 had entered, only there was in the hound's eyes a 

 ray, if it may be so called, that conjured up the 

 thought of the devil. I left him for about an hour, 

 and when I returned he was lying, in the position of 

 a sphinx, at the extreme length of his chain from 

 the dish that held his water. The instant I raised 

 the water he became full of apprehension or sus- 

 picion, so, by way of an experiment to satisfy myself, 

 1 took a little of the water in my hand and sprinkled 

 it on his nose, drawing the chain that held him 



