112 HORSES AND HOUNDS. 



hours' exercise witli the horses every morning, gradually ex- 

 tending the time and distance, walking first, trotting after- 

 wards, and then winding up with a good canter across turf. 

 When, after a brisk gallop over the downs, the hounds' mouths 

 shut almost immediately upon pulling up, we then considered 

 them in tolerably good wind and condition to commence opera- 

 tions in cub-hunting. For this purpose our home country was 

 as severe and trying to hounds as could well be selected, the 

 hills being nearly as steep as the roof of a house, and the coverts 

 abounding in blackthorn, so that we were obliged to Lave them 

 in thorough good trim before encountering these difficulties. 

 In case of the hounds slipping away with an old fox, there was 

 little chance either of one being able to stop them in a hurry, 

 there being scarcely any drives in the woods where we might 

 view a fox, or get to the hounds. There were no little isolated 

 spinneys, where we could pick up a brace of cubs in half an 

 hour or so, as is the case in many countries, or fine, flat, open 

 woodlands, but all our cub-hunting coverts were of the roughest 

 and most uncomeatable description, and for tearing hounds to 

 pieces, as bad as gorse brakes. In such places hounds could 

 not be stopped, and if they found an old fox they would have 

 their wicked way with him, for half a dozen miles or so, be- 

 fore we might have it in our power to get up with them, often 

 streaming away across the country, through standing barley, 

 over which I have had many a gallop ; but our farmers, almost all 

 to a man, were of the right sort, and never made complaints of 

 an outbreak of this kind. 



Upon one occasion we had, at the commencement of cub- 

 hunting, as severe a day as often occurs in the regular _ hunting 

 season. On the outskirts, and just adjoining our neighbour's 

 country, there had been a litter of cubs bred, in some pretty 

 little brakes, lying nicely together, and far away from any other 

 woods, and as both Jim and myself were of opinion that they 

 were in rather a ticklish situation, and not likely to remain 

 there very long, we resolved on paying them a visit as early as 

 possible, expecting an easy day and an easy prey; we accord- 

 ingly took all our young hounds to rattle these cubs about, but 

 we were destined to catch a Tartar in the shape of an old fox, 

 and the dressing he gave us was not easily forgotten. We had 

 drawn all the other coverts blank, when, at the end of the last 

 brake we had to try, an old fox went immediately away, and 

 at first we were unable to stop the hounds ; but, as he merely 

 took a short ring and returned to the coverts, we thought we 

 might probably manage to catch him without any very great 

 exertions, and we had no other place to draw. The scent was not 



