LETTER XV. 1()1 



the deserved success. We found a fox in some large 

 woodlands, on a day which was pronounced by the cog- 

 noscenti in such matters to be a very bad one for scent, 

 and after a ring or two round the covert, a friend of 

 mine — who, by the way, was a master of hounds him- 

 self, only in a different line — said he thought we should 

 not be able to do anything, only, perhaps, be badgering 

 about those woods all da}'^ ; and he thought, as there 

 was little prospect of a run, he should go home, as he 

 had some business to attend to. " Just stay a quarter 

 of an hour longer," I replied, "for, unless I am very 

 much deceived, we have an old warrior before us, and he 

 won't hang about here much longer." " Nonsense," he 

 said, " upon such a day as this, you could not catch a 

 bad fox, much less a good one ; and I have heard you 

 say it requires three good things to catch a good fox : 

 a good scenting day, a good pack of hounds, and a good 

 huntsman." "Very true," 1 replied ; " of the latter we 

 will say nothing ; of the former we cannot say much at 

 present ; but there is a good pack of hounds out, and T 

 wish you to be satisfied on that point before you go 

 home." " Very well," he said, " I will wait at least 

 half an hour longer, and see how you go on." 



Our fox had tried to break once or twice at the top of 

 the covert, but was headed back by the horsemen and foot 

 people ; his point I therefore knew to be another large 

 covert about a mile distant. Being foiled in these at- 

 tempts, he at last broke away nearly at the bottom of 

 the wood, making a circuit over the vale, to reach the 

 same covert, in which was a strong head of earths. We 

 ran him pretty sharply over the open, having a turn of 

 the wind in our favour, and dashed up to the earths, 



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