BIDING THE TIME. 215 



'^ Upon my word/^ said I^ "I am just in the 

 dilemma Peter Pindar represents Whitbread on 

 George tlie Third asking him half-a-dozen ques- 

 tions at a time^ namely^ not exactly knowing what 

 to attend to first. We^ll wait till we can get 

 something authentic to act upon." 



'^ Twhoo, twhoo_, twlioo/^ goes the Master's horn. 

 " Come along/' said I, hearing this^ " we're in 

 luck; he has gone away towards our country." 

 Illfated prophet that I was. '' Tally ho, back !" 

 cries the Master. 



Crash through the cover comes the Huntsman 

 with the body of the hounds, two or three couple 

 feathering outside, " Here, here, boick ! whoo, 

 whoo, whoo !" cries he, capping his hounds into 

 a ride in the middle of the cover. Presently 

 such a crash met our ears. "A view," said I. 

 In a second all was silent. " He has made a 

 short dodge," said I. All was now still for 

 several minutes, rather an unusual circumstance 

 in such a hunt. A most scientific, not-to-be- 

 misunderstood " Tailly ho, away ! " roused us. 

 " Gone, for a hundred," said I and the hunted 

 fox too — the prayers of the wicked are oftener 

 heard than those of the deserving. "Let him 

 keep straight, we have a fine country to cross, 

 and towards home too" — a comfortable circum- 

 stance this, even to a fox-hunter. AVe had 

 p 4 



