DORSETS STORY 85 



they again approached me, just as I had reached 

 the wall which surrounded the wood, at the top of 

 the hill looking into the vale, where I descended, 

 and looking back saw the hounds for a short time 

 again at a check, owing to that high ground being 

 sUghtly covered with snow. I dreaded lest they 

 should take the hounds on beyond the snow to- 

 wards the vale where I was ; but they soon turned 

 back, and I heard no more. It was nearly three 

 o'clock, which some think time to go homeward 

 rather than from home, as would have been the 

 case if they had followed me, when probably I 

 should not have Uved to tell my tale. The scent 

 in the vale is always so much greater than on the 

 hills from which they had hunted me, that I must 

 have fallen a prey to this pack. Although we are 

 endowed with so large a share of wisdom, it is not 

 all-sufficient ; or else we should be aware that when 

 pursued by hounds and nearly beaten by them, it 

 must be all but certain death to us to run from a 

 bad scenting country into a good one. 



Having now openly defeated the enemies who 

 had conspired against me, I remained in the vale 

 until I was tempted to move into a finer and fairer 

 country. Great changes are going on in the hunt- 

 ing of the country which I left ; and should we 



