HARVEST AND GLEANING TIME 171 



pany that used the house. As our host was, 

 like most of his class, a small farmer, the 

 custom to the house alone not being sufficient 

 for a living, the conversation of the company 

 turned on crops, horses, dogs, and game ; whilst 

 the general stock, such as cows, sheep, and 

 poultry, filled up odd corners of the conversa- 

 tion whenever it flagged. 



I ventured to ask if a celebrated pack of stag- 

 hounds still hunted the district, and our host at 

 once referred me to a grey-headed, wiry-looking 

 man, that might have been, from the look of 

 his dress, under-keeper, mole-catcher, or stable- 

 help ; he had only left the kennels of a well- 

 known hunting establishment when the owner 

 died, having been one of the kennel feeders. 

 From him we had odd scraps of information. 

 The dogs he tended were large hounds blood- 

 hounds, as they were always called by all the 

 rustic population of the district. That they 

 had been crossed with the bloodhound there 

 was not the least doubt ; their jowls, ears, and 

 build told that plainly ; so did their voices. 

 To look at, they were very large, heavy fox- 

 hounds, and they were named far and near 

 by all that knew them as Lord 's blood- 

 hounds. That they were sharply looked after 



