First Whipper-in. 119 



The hounds were " all sizes, all colours, all ages, and in all 

 diseases ! " About forty couple of them. After we had 

 made an inspection, Mr. John Harvey (the master) came 

 down, and we had a few days' shooting amongst them, and 

 thinned them out well. A great many had mange, and I 

 used to bleed and dress a couple of them with a view to 

 cure, but they never got right over it. After we had been 

 there about six weeks we took them out for horse exercise, 

 and after a turn round about came through the village of 

 Sedgefield, where old " Nimrod," who resembled in many 

 respects besides name the hound that stole the ribs of beef 

 from old Jochem's slab at Cirencester, and had a character 

 for visiting any house of which he saw the door open, 

 bolted into one ; I waited for him coming out, which he soon 

 did, and sent him flying over the street ; at the same time, 

 about five couple bolted off in all directions, so we packed 

 up what we had left as carefully as we could, and went off" 

 home. At the kennels we coupled together all we could, 

 and then took them out again by way of breaking them in 

 a bit, they were so wild. After coupling freely for a time 

 we got them more sociable and broken in, and by time and 

 patience soon had them much handier, but it was a rare job. 

 At first some of them would fly at you if you showed them 

 a pair of couples, and the kennelman told us that he could 

 not couple several of them at all, but by perseverance we 

 managed to get the best of them. I must say that I thought 

 I had got into a queer place at first, but after putting more 

 down, and getting a good quantity of drafts, we got into some 

 sort of shape for cub-hunting. Mr. John Parrington was 

 then agent for Lord Boyne at Brancepeth, and gave per- 

 mission for the hounds to be taken there amongst the deer 

 and hares. I shall never forget the first day amongst the 



