74 HOUND AND HORN 



watching a fox going right away, well out across a 

 good country, before he touched his horn. Hounds 

 soon came streaming out, and apparently ran the 

 line so far, then turned at right angles back towards 

 the wood. He blew till he was purple ; then laying 

 down the horn, said, 'Look at that. What in 

 wonder is taking them down there? Isn't that most 

 excruciating ? ' 



''Again, when hounds had divided for the moment, 

 and we were hesitating which to follow, and an ardent 

 young sportsman rode up to him saying, ' There are 

 some hounds on.' ' Fm aware of that, sir; but don't 

 you hear the major portion of the pack running back 

 like distraction ? ' " 



On another occasion, a wild stormy day in the 

 end of March, we had drawn a large tract of country 

 blank till late in the afternoon, when we found a 

 fox in a long strip of plantation, from end to end 

 of which and then across some fields to another 

 plantation, hounds ran. It was then found to be 

 a vixen they were running, so they were stopped, 

 not without some difficulty. Meanwhile one or two 

 of the field had viewed, or thought they had viewed, 

 a dog fox away from some scattered whin bushes 

 outside the first strip, and the news spread. Hounds 

 had crossed the supposed line and had not indicated 

 it. Then one after another, down to the youngest, no 

 less than three members of the Ducal family came 

 to the huntsman with the intelligence. 



"You know a fox went away from the end of 

 the strip when hounds were running the other," 

 said No. I. 



" Indeed, my lud ? " 



