LETTER XVI. 167 



which mj man informed me of in our way to covert. 

 Upon arriving at the place of meeting, the keeper made 

 his appearance on a stout pony, and gave me the intel- 

 ligence that the old gentleman was at home, who had 

 beaten Mr. Slowman for three seasons. " You know him 

 well, then, keeper ?" Oh yes, Sir, we be old acquaint- 

 ances, and 1 think likely to remain so some time longer." 

 " Well," I said, " all I wish you to do is, to go with mo 

 into the covert, and introduce me to your friend ; I pro- 

 mise you I will stick to him afterwards." " I'll show 

 him to you, Sir, as soon as ever you begin drawing, and 

 my notion is, you won't forget 'un in a hurry." After 

 the coffee-house formalities had been dispensed with we 

 proceeded to business, the keeper accompanying me, to 

 introduce us to the old gentleman's quarters. He was 

 at home, and ready to receive us. My whipper-in had 

 learnt all particulars of his tricks the night before, from 

 the old huntsman, who was anything but a teetotaller, 

 and, finding this out, he had plied him pretty well with 

 drops of brandy, until he had wormed some secrets out. 

 Jim accordingly told me all about him, and received his 

 instructions how to act. 



The tactics of this old fox were to keep running his 

 foil, as the term is, round the covert, with the occasional 

 divertissement of taking a short circuit in the open, and 

 back again at the old game. We rattled him pretty 

 sharply at first, but he was beginning to increase his dis- 

 tance from the hounds, by failure of scent, and I saw, 

 unless we had recourse to stratagem, the game might 

 last for hours. I was also nettled by the keeper riding 

 up, laughingly, and saying, " Well, Sir, I suppose you 

 knows the colour of his coat by this time, and whether 



