202 HORSES AND HOUNDS. 



hounds had, in fact, run away from us all ; and when I got up, 

 they were standing still in some short miderwood, with their 

 heads up. An old friend of mine, and a capital sportsman, 

 who was with me, on seeing the hounds in such a position, 

 exclaimed, "Why, what's in the wind nowT' "Nothing," I 

 said, "that's very clear." "He's gone to ground," said Bob. 

 The hounds vrere standing close by the earths. I examined all oi. 

 them ; none were open. " Here is a queer affair, indeed," said Bob ; 

 "but where's the fox, squire r "Among the hounds." "Among 

 the hounds !" he said : " how the deuce can that be ? I can see 

 every inch of ground where they are standing ; but no fox can 

 be there." "There he is, then, I will swear; or ray hounds 

 ought to be hanged, every one of them." Upon looking under 

 an old ash stoul, I espied the fox, curled up, literally in the 

 midst of the hounds. " There he is, by Jupiter, Bob, not ten 

 yards from your horse's head," In anotlier minute he jumped 

 up among the liounds, and of course was finished. " That's all 

 right," said Bob, "let them have him at once, and we will go 

 and look for another fox before the spoonies come out. Egad ! 

 how they will stare v/hen I show them the brush." 



We had come over some very stiff inclosures, having to cross 

 a nasty brook twice, with hollow banks ; and many of the 

 spoonies, as Bob called the rear rank, had been treated to a cold 

 bath ; but one, and a good sportsman to boot, who sat rather 

 loose in his saddle, was shot clean over to the other side, by his 

 horse stopping short as he came to the bank ; and this was not 

 the worst part of his flying leap, for a youngster who was out 

 on a pony caught his horse, jumped upon his back, and left him 

 the pony to come on with as well as he could. 



Having eaten our fox, we left the place to try for another, 

 and met the field scrambling in, in various plights. A friend of 

 Bob's met us, covered with sand from his head to his knees. 

 " Holloa !" said Bob, "where the dickens have you been, Coxe ? 

 One would think you had been rabbiting." " Why," he said, 

 " I have only had a bit of a noser into a sand bank. Not liking 

 the look of the brook, I turned short away from the meadows, 

 and, like a fool, went at a five-barred gate, up hill, with a blown 

 horse, into a sandy field. A fnp was the consequence, and it 

 took me some little time to get tlie sand out of my eyes ; tliat's 

 all." " And enough too, for once ; your own mother wouldn't 

 know you." " But where's the fox. Bob T " There," pointing 

 to the hounds. " Come, none of your nonsense ; I wont have 

 that." " Well, then, you shall have this, if you are a good boy," 

 holding up the brush. 



In the check which occurred will be seen the necessity for 

 leaving hounds alone when, with a burning scent, they are 



