■180 HORSES AND HOUNDS. 



race a fox to death, but it requires a good pack of hounds to 

 catch a good old warrior, who can hold on for an hour and a 

 half. To beat such a one, fox-hounds must not only run hard, 

 but hunt as well, and persevere in their work; and there is 

 great satisfaction, as well as great merit, in finishing him off 

 handsomely at last. 



I may here relate one instance out of many in which my 

 perseverance through difficulties was crowned with the deserved 

 success. We found a fox in some large woodlands, on a day 

 which was pronounced by the cognoscenti in such matters to be 

 a very bad one for scent, and after a ring or two round the 

 covert, a friend of mine — who, by the way, was a master of 

 hounds himself, only in a different line — said he thought we 

 should not be able to do anything, only, perhaps, be badgering 

 about those woods all day ; and he thought, as there was little 

 prospect of a run, he should go home, having other business to 

 attend to. " Just stay a quarter of an hour longer," I replied, 

 " for, unless I am very much deceived, we have an old warrior 

 before us, and he wont hang about here much longer." 

 " Nonsense," he said, " upon such a day as this, you could not 

 catch a bad fox, much less a good one ; and I have heard you 

 say it requires three good things to catch a good fox : a good 

 scenting day, a good pack of hounds, and a good huntsman." 

 " Very true," I replied ; " of the latter we will say nothing ; of 

 the former we cannot say much at present ; but there is a good 

 pack of hounds out, and I wish you to be satisfied on that point 

 iDcfore you go home." " Very well," he said, " I will wait at 

 least half an hour longer, and see how you go on." 



Our fox had tried to break once or twice at the top of the 

 covert, but was headed back by the horsemen and foot people ; 

 his point I therefore knew to be another large covert about a 

 mile distant. Being foiled in these attempts, he at last broke 

 away nearly at the bottom of the wood, making a circuit over 

 the vale, to reach the same covert, in which was a strong head 

 of earths. We ran him pretty sharply over the open, having a 

 turn of the wind in our favour, and dashed up to the earths, 

 which were closed. Finding no refuge here, our gallant game, 

 without more ado, broke away again, and set his head straight 

 for my neighbour's country, resolved to do or die. We ran him 

 for several miles with a moderate and treacherous scent into 

 the heart of the adjoining hunt, and our first check of any con- 

 sequence was at a rather wide brook. The hounds crossed over 

 near a ford or shallow place, where the horses could easily cross 

 as well, and after running to an old stone quarry, they turned 

 short back upon us as we were ascending the hill, and crossed the 



