62 THE OLD BERKS HUNT 



huntsman was William Bull, whose son was 

 living in Hinton until a comparatively recent 

 date, the proud possessor of the horn his 

 father had carried. The son used to tell in 

 the village the following story of a part he 

 once played in a hunt. Mr. Symonds had a 

 party of hunting men in the house, and they 

 were to draw Uffington Wood the next day. 

 The wine had circulated freely, and the 

 guests commenced to chaff the Master about 

 the next day's sport, and said there would be 

 no fox for them to hunt. Mr. Robert Hey- 

 sham offered to bet a dinner that Uffington 

 Wood would be drawn blank. Robert Sy- 

 monds took the bet at once, and after dinner 

 sent for Bull. " Bull," said he, '* Mr. Hey- 

 sham says we've no foxes. I've bet him we 

 find in Uffington Wood." "All right, sir, I 

 expect we shall find right enough." Bull was 

 of the same opinion as the Dean's butler in 

 "Dandy Dick," in which Mrs. John Wood 

 used to amuse us so much at the Court 

 Theatre. " If a gentleman of your honour's 

 quality makes a bet I consider he should at 

 least bet on a ' suttinty.' " Bull did not know 

 if there was a fox in Uffington Wood or not, 

 but at any rate he did know where one was 

 to be found. His son was sent off at an 

 early hour in the morning, with a bag over 



