154 HORSES AND HOUNDS. 



used to term it) towards animals in my possession. I never 

 parted witli an old favourite, whether horse or hound ; many of 

 the latter, when worn out by hard service, were continually 

 about the premises. They had a warm house to go into at 

 night, next the boiling house, and i^lenty to eat, and I have no 

 doubt they enjoyed their ^^ otium cum dignitate" as much as any 

 old pensioners in Greenwich Hospital. With good living and 

 no work, they certainly did become most extraordinary looking 

 figures, very much resembling aldermen in appearance, and 

 their very looks gave a flat contradiction to the recommendation 

 of my friends, to put those " wretched old animals out of their 

 misery.''' Having spent the best of their days in my service, and 

 done their utmost to aff'ord me pleasure, I always considered it 

 at least my duty to aftord them that protection and refuge in 

 their old age w^hich they so well deserved ; and, notwithstanding 

 the taunts often received from other friendly masters of hounds, 

 nothing ever induced me to alter that fixed principle — at my 

 hand, or by my orders, their lives were never required. Upon 

 hunting days, during the season, these old hounds were always 

 shut up, to prevent their following the pack ; but in the cub- 

 hunting they could always do as they liked, and they generally 

 honoured us with their company upon those occasions. 



An old hound I had, called Pilgrim, showed most extra- 

 ordinary sagacity one day, which may be considered rather too 

 romantic to be true, but I vouch for the fact. He was out with 

 us in the early part of the season, w^lien we brought a fox to our 

 home coverts, and ran him to ground there in a large rabbit 

 pipe. As we tried on for another fox, the earth was stopped 

 up, but not finding again, I returned home and fed the hounds. 

 Old Pilgrim was with us then, and the terriers, which, after 

 feeding, were, as usual, let run about. This was about two 

 o'clock in the day. At four o'clock I went down to see the 

 hounds again, and, not finding either the terriers or old Pilgrim 

 in their usual sleeping apartment, I made inquiries where they 

 were. No one could tell ; but the feeder had seen them, about 

 an hour previously, in the yard together. We searched and 

 looked everywhere for them, but in vain. It being a fine after- 

 noon, and having nothing to do, I walked across to the covert 

 where we had run the fox to ground in the morning, to see if 

 he had scratched his way out again, as some loose stones only 

 had been thrown into the earth. Great, indeed, was my sur- 

 prise, when I discovered old Pilgrim lying at the mouth of the 

 pipe, having removed all the stones, and dug a hole nearly large 

 enough to hold himself : greater still was my surprise, when 

 upon listening at the earth I heard the two terriers inside at 

 the fox ! The old dog wagged his tail, and gave me a knowing 



