410 RE.^IINISCENCES OF A HUNTSMAN. 



about which they were checkhig. The fox came on towards 

 me, and seehig my red coat, he instantly crouched down in a 

 furrow. Mr. Shedden and his hounds were a vast deal nearer 

 to him than I was, and had I halloaed, the chances were 

 that Mr. Shedden, if he came, would come over the ford 

 of the brook, which, from its nature not its size, was not 

 at that i:)lace jumpable, and be further from his fox than 

 ever. I therefore sat still, the fox and myself looking at each 

 other, and hoped the hounds would hit him off. This they 

 did not do; and, seeing that they still were left puzzling about 

 the fallows, I ventured on one cry to call attention, and 

 hoisting my hunting-cap on my whip to solicit peculiar 

 notice ; thus we remained for many minutes. I think Mr. 

 Shedden must have seen my raised cap, rather a remarkable 

 act in a former master of hounds, and one which I thought 

 would not be slighted ; however, no notice seemed to be 

 taken of it, and the fox having rested, and grown tired of our 

 mutual inspection, rose, shook himself, and started at a nasty 

 long; cToino- canter, that looked as if he had cauo'ht a second 

 wind, running parallel with the brook, and at last crossing a 

 road close by Mr. Thomas Wyndham, who immediately hal- 

 loaed him. I gallopped down the brook, and joined Mr. 

 "Wyndham, and there we sat and halloaed till we were tired. 

 After at least a quarter of an hour's delay, or more, Mr. 

 Shedden brought his hounds, and, to my amusement, pettishly 

 asked us what we were hallooing at. I said, " what else but 

 our fox ! " The error of this " let-'em-alone " plan was, that 

 instead of a view at a blown and beaten fox, the hounds were 

 put a quarter of an hour behind a rested fox, who, in addition 

 to his rest, had just swam through a cold brook, and conse- 

 quently started Avith his extremities chilled and his mouth 

 shut, leaving for a time still less scent than ever. The 

 hounds in fact could not speak to it, but a halloa ahead took 

 them on, and, as I have often seen to happen after crossing 

 water with both deer and fox, the line warmed up again, and 

 the hounds could mark him. We held him on some way with 

 repeated checks, so far, that I confess that every moment I 

 expected the hounds to hunt up to him in a hedge-row and 



