CHASING AND RACING 49 



vagabonds were at fault. Now as this occurred on the 

 Sabbath, and the Sunday-school children ran amok 

 to join the gay throng, there was a wailing and gnashing 

 of teeth among the " unco* guid '* of the village, who 

 formed a deputation imploring ** The Dads " to put 

 a stop to my desecration of the Lord's Day. This he 

 did — diplomatically ; and as by this time I had used 

 up every hare within a radius of many miles, but never 

 accounted for one, and as my precious beagles (so called) 

 were by now quite beyond my control, I graciously 

 condescended to abandon my *' country " and put down 

 my " pack,'' after having selected three couples of the 

 most persistent *' bunny busters " to act as aids to the 

 gun ; a duty which be it said to their credit they per- 

 formed with becoming zest and efficiency. The gun 

 was used, not with, but on, the rest, by a callous hire- 

 ling, and I tried to forget that I ever owned them. But 

 the spirit of Nimrod burnt brightly within me. No 

 sooner were Ted and I installed with our respective 

 wives and offspring in the Abbey, than we set about 

 forming a harrier pack to hunt a rather apochryphal 

 country long since abandoned, if indeed it had ever 

 existed. At first there was a deal of squealing on the 

 part of the Committee of the Old Berkeley (West) 

 Foxhounds ; but the farmers were dead keen on this 

 addition to the sporting attractions of the neighbour- 

 hood, and when I gave a firm undertaking to keep my 

 ** jelly dogs " remote from all the well-established fox 

 coverts, our little venture was tolerated. I had to 



£ 



