A VARIED PACK. 239 



and a pipe of bird's-eye, poor human nature 

 would hardly be strong enough to resist her. 



I confess that when 1 started on our first 

 drive at Sukhoum I looked on my rifle as a 

 rather unnecessary encumbrance, but the 

 bright spirits of the party made me feel that 

 if the shoot was not a success, the picnic could 

 not be a failure. 



The pack which met us two or three miles 

 from the town was of the most varied de- 

 scription. There were bigrough-coatedhounds, 

 such as the shepherds of Southern Russia and 

 the Caucasus keep to guard their flocks, 

 straining at their collars and viciously anxious 

 to fight anything and everything which came 

 near them. There were hounds not unlike 

 our own fox-hounds, and there were a couple of 

 well-bred little French bassets. 



The huntsman was a sergeant of the regi- 

 ment, and his whips were a couple of sturdy 

 non-commissioned oflicers. The master's office 



