THE OOTACAMUND HOUNDS. 1G1 



sleeping Ooty, and pursued her pell-mell down the road. A 

 check was brought about by Nanny manfully turning round 

 upon her pursuers ; but reinforcements arriving (the contagion 

 having now spread through the whole pack), she was forced 

 again to betake herself to flight. As ill-luck would have it, a 

 Mohammedan shopkeeper, of high caste and position, was 

 taking down his shutters close by. In through the open door 

 dashed Nanny, after her rushed the thirty couple of noisy 

 fiends, upsetting the shopman on their way, and defiling his 

 carcase with their unclean feet. The uproar in the shop became 

 hideous, as the nanny goat stood at bay on a shelf, the counter 

 swept of its wares, and the floor a chaos of every conceivable 

 commodity that a store affords. The huntsman, almost as 

 enraged at the conduct of his pets as the now foaming shop- 

 keeper, stood some fifty yards away, blowing his horn with 

 might and main, while his attendants plunged into the melee, 

 and plied whipcord and rating with lavish freedom. The Baboo, 

 regaining his feet, seized a double-barrelled gun ; but, fortu- 

 nately, could not find his cartridges, or assuredly some crime, 

 and possibly bloody reprisal, would have been committed. The 

 old hounds soon tired of their disgraceful lark, and their younger 

 confreres were quickly made to feel the situation too hot for 

 them. 



This was only the first act of a stirring morning's perform- 

 ance. But I need not dwell on how the young entry found 

 further genial occupation in chivying a black retriever until he 

 plunged under his sick master's bed ; nor how they ran the pug 

 of a lady of high rank and position (this in India, too, where 

 rank and precedence are words of awful significance) to ground 

 in its mistress's pony carriage : frightening the owner almost to 

 death, and starting her pony in their determined efforts to draw 

 their prey. When at length they were brought back to kennel, 

 master and whips were exhausted and despondent. But break- 

 fast did much towards recruiting nature, and enabling them to 

 continue the course of discipline. A great part of the remainder 

 of the day was spent in impressing upon the subjects under 



