ADVENTURES WITH THE HOUNDS 159 



" Jump up," said Eussell ; " my horse shall carry 

 us both as far as he can ; " and he actually carried 

 the miller behind him till the fox was killed. Mr. 

 Russell would rather have one sportsman out with 

 him than twenty fine gentlemen who put on the 

 scarlet coat merely for the love of fashion.' 



The love of hunting is not confined, as some 

 imagine, to persons who have nothing else to do. 

 Some of England's most illustrious sons have taken 

 delight in the sport. The late Duke of Wellington 

 was a keen fox-hunter, and the late Lord Palmerston 

 sometimes had a day with the Hambledon hounds. 

 f His lordship was in the field one day when a fox 

 was found at Bittern. Reynard ran to the water at 

 Bursledon, but did not cross ; instead he turned 

 short back to Bittern, where he ran to earth with 

 the hounds close to his brush. All the horses had 

 had enough, and all the field left immediately except 

 Lord Palmerston, who appeared anxious that the 

 fox should be got out, saying that the hounds de- 

 served to have him. He was told that it would be a 

 long job, as the soil was sandy, and the fox could dig 

 as fast as the men. " Never mind," was the reply ; 

 " I will stay and help to the end." All hands ac- 

 cordingly dug away as long as daylight lasted ; then 

 lanterns we regot, and at a quarter to eleven the fox 

 was got at, after which Lord Palmerston had a ride 

 of fourteen miles in the dark to Broadlands. The 

 explanation of his anxiety was that his horse was 



