First Whipper-in. 117 



was always first out of covert if it was blank. He hunted 

 three days a week, and helped to draw every covert. One 

 day at Coldsides covert, near Rushyford, in the South 

 Durham country, he found us a brace of foxes after hounds 

 had drawn the covert blank, and come out. Old Chester 

 stayed behind, and we missed him ; when just at that moment 

 he gave tongue at the Rushy side of the covert, and out 

 came a brace. Before leaving the Buda-Pesth country I 

 may say that, perhaps, the most noted covert was one about 

 thirteen miles from the kennels called " Karrishder." We 

 did not speak the native language particularly well, and were 

 content to call it " carriage door." It always held a lot 

 of foxes, and was in the best country, and in a part where 

 the population was very scanty, so we generally had grand 

 sport there, though, unfortunately, mostly on the flat. There 

 was other sport besides fox-hunting out there, and Carter 

 used to take me out shooting with him in search of part- 

 ridges, hares, wild duck, etc., right up the Danube from New 

 Pesth to Weitsin, a five mile stretch along the river side. 

 Often we went out duck-shooting on a moonlight night. I 

 left Austro- Hungary in 1874, as I well remember the great 

 Vienna Exhibition of 1873 was held out there when I was 

 over. I went to it twice, the first time with Mr. and Mrs. 

 Lowe and party. Whilst in the train, travelling to Vienna, 

 Mrs. Lowe said that she would give something for a bottle 

 of Bass' pale ale. I said, " Wait until we get to Vienna, 

 and then we will all have one ! " There were nine of us in 

 the company, and as I ordered the beer I said, " I will stand 

 the lot ! " But we might as well have had champagne 

 instead of beer, as it cost me 2s. 5d. a bottle, and we 

 could have had champagne for 2s. 6d. They did have a jolly 

 good laugh at me, especially Carter and Mrs. Lowe, because 



