94 REMINISCENCES OF A HUNTSMAN 



none of my 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 dressing-gown 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 comprehend 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 night-work ; but still in the morning I 

 found the bitches sleepy, and as if tired, and also that they 

 were going back in their milk ; I saw that, though I had not 

 heard them, they had been at work; so the next thing I 

 did, having found them in the previous instance wet, was to 

 examine the banks of the river. Sure enough there were the 

 places where they had been scrambling in and out ; and at last 

 I discovered that they had been hunting an otter, who, from 

 the mill above my house to the deep water below the bridge, 

 on account of the shallows, usually ran the meadows. Thence 

 I adopted the plan of chaining the bitches to their hutches at 

 night. Over my chimney-piece in the dining-room, at this 

 moment, is a fine dog otter, which Mr. Drake killed, while I 

 was present, in the Ouse, at Bromham, in Bedfordshire, a very 

 nice seat belonging to Lord Dynevor. 



A good many of my puppies were walked by Mr. PolhilPs 

 tenants at Howbury Hall ; but in 1830, upon the demise of the 

 Crown, I lost all these walks. My readers will think it odd 

 what that had to do with it ; but it had, nevertheless, from the 

 general election which followed. At that election, Mr. Polhill 

 made his first appearance in the political world, for which I had 

 long observed him paying or paving the way. He bought 

 horses of one man ; set up a four-in-hand, sixteen legs to the 

 team, of course, but not more than five eyes; and gave a 

 wooden leg to a poor girl, and did everything that was popular 

 among those who were to exercise the elective franchise in the 

 borough of Bedford. I thought him rash ; for considering the 



