2o8 The PytcJiley Hunty Past and Present, 



proposition. There, a uniformly dry or mild winter is 

 never productive of sport, and the cry of the Huntsman 

 invariably is, *' We mustn^t look for any good scents until 

 we have a change of weather." 



In a letter from Lord Spencer, written long, long ago, 

 and from a far distant spot, he says : ^^ You must not 

 expect many runs until you exchange your mild weather 

 for some frost and snow to sweeten the ground;" and 

 this used to be stoutly maintained by Charles Payne, as it 

 still is by Will Goodall. 



That ^^ scent transcendeth all Huntsmen," and is as true 

 now as it was when uttered by Edmund de Laiigley, one 

 of the sons of Edward III., there is no disputing. But 

 what is that ^'mystery of mysteries" which we call by 

 the name of scent ? Who can unravel the impalpable 

 puzzle ? Who interpret the riddle that has baffled gene- 

 ration after generation ? ^'^ The world is growing old ! " 

 Those who know, or say they do, declare that it has long 

 passed its six thousandth birthday, and yet neither 

 physicists nor men of science have been able to tell 

 whence it cometh or whither it goeth ; or where or when 

 it may be looked for. Things alike in their nature 

 produce and destroy it — things totally dissimilar work 

 with the same result. 



One sporting rhymster tells us of a great run that 

 came oJBf when " the wind was north-east, forbiddingly- 

 keen,'^ whilst another bids us be of good cheer with a 

 ^' Soutberly wind and a cloudy sky, which proclaims a 

 hunting morning." Some sporting pundits affirm that 

 the rolling hound and the drop-laden hedge are each 

 ominous of evil, and as regards the latter, all Hunts- 

 men seem of one mind. No sooner, however, has the 



