174 MANAGEMENT OF HOUNDS. 



he'll beat us, I am afraid, yet ; but there is one thing in 

 our favour, he don't seem much in a hurry at present, 

 and lucky for us, as we can't make more than a canter of 

 it, over these glass bottles'' " Never mind, Jim, we will 

 take it patiently a little longer, until we are off these 

 heavy ploughed lands; and as I see some hills in the dis- 

 tance straight before us, I think we shall mend our pace 

 when we reach them." 



Our fox was a traveller, and kept steadily on over a 

 large tract of land, small woods or hedgerows intervening 

 occasionally, until, to my great delight, we had left the 

 glass bottles, as Jim called them, behind us, and came 

 right upon the open down. Here was a change indeed ! 

 The fresh breezes of the hill were as refreshing to our- 

 selves and horses as the soft turf was delightful to our 

 hounds' bruised feet. A wonderful change came over us 

 all — the scent improved, the hounds began to mend their 

 pace immediately. An old sportsman coming up re- 

 marked that our fox, being now on the hills, was certainly 

 making his point for another large covert in the vale 

 beyond. " What distance is it, may I ask, and in what 

 direction ?" " Four or five miles away, and straight be- 

 fore you ; you will soon see it. Skirting a patch of 

 gorse, where our friend Slyboots had waited a little 

 (perhaps to try and catch another rabbit), the hounds 

 suddenly threw up their heads, down went their sterns, 

 and away they rattled, as hard as their legs could carry 

 them. We could now see the large covert in the dis- 

 tance. " Jim," I said, " get forward as fast as you can to 

 that wood yonder, straight as a line, and cut him off* from 

 entering it, if you can. If he gains that wood, he beats 

 us ; there are many foxes there, and we are sure to 



