"I SMELL A FOX!" 271 



fetid refuse and carrion, so much so, that they were a nuisance 

 to be near, and yet, in the midst of such an abomination borne 

 along with them, and apparently overpowering every other 

 smell, and tainting the surrounding air, they could pick out and 

 inhale the scent of a fox, or even a hare, of the presence of 

 which neither man nor any other animal but a hound was 

 aware. In speaking of noses, I once made a middle-aged 

 gentleman very irate, who, while I was drawing for a fox with 

 twenty couples of as good foxhounds as ever entered a wood, 

 suddenly pulled up his horse in the cover ride, and exclaimed, 

 " I smell a fox ! " When he said this the hounds were all round 

 us, and not one even feathered or in any way grew busy. u Do 

 you ? " I replied, " then I wish you would be the papa of my 

 next litter of puppies, for you have a finer nose than any dog 

 in my pack. 1 ' 



In breeding, gentle reader, and only then, you are permitted 

 to use the term " dog " to a male foxhound. The middle-aged 

 gentleman grew excessively red, and, though he said nothing to 

 me, I was afterwards told that, although admitting that my 

 wish was uttered good-humouredly, he felt himself hurt and 

 insulted at the idea of his being the father of puppies. It is a 

 shrub called the tree St. John's wort that smells like a fox, and 

 induces the ignorant to utter such exclamations. I encourage 

 the shrub round my house, as it is very hardy, and ground game 

 will not touch it, and it affords me an opportunity to illustrate 

 the mistake, in regard to the smell of a fox, to men who have 

 committed it. 



During the month of July 1853, when the deer were getting 

 very scarce, under leave from the Crown, I was very glad to get 

 any gentleman to accompany me in search of them, as two or 

 three guns attending on Druid's efforts were better than one, 

 the more so as it permitted me to aid the hound in drawing 

 and running. Mr. Boultbee, as well as Mr. Calvert, who were 

 quartered with their troops of the Royal Horse Artillery at 

 Christchurch Barracks, were just the active aids I wanted, and 

 were very fond of the amusement. Mr. Boultbee was frequently 



