STRANGE CONDUCT WITH HOUNDS. 153 



possible cry. In a moment or two, I suppose (for 

 they were out of sight), from a variety of reasons, 

 they all sat down, for there was a dead silence, and 

 then, when they were fit to toddle on again, there 

 was an occasionally-thrown rational tongue, evidently 

 flung on the drag of some animal, no doubt the 

 wolf. I sat listening to the variation of the line, till 

 I thought that it must have crossed the high road, 

 though not one single note on the horn indicated the 

 fact. A French huntsman seldom plays his huge 

 instrument except when he has nothing to do, and 

 it can be of no possible use ; so in this instance, 

 guided by my ear, the hounds being over it, and of 

 course the living spring-guns set the other way, I 

 trotted into the beleaguered high road, and passed 

 into the woods beyond. Oh, what fine wild darkly- 

 delled woods they were! gloomy, I dare say, in the 

 eyes of town-goers, but to me a land of promise. 

 As I passed the road a glimpse showed me the 

 struggling bunches of half-throttled hounds, most of 

 them flinging their tongues too ; so I made a mental 

 note not to mistake their howls for the line of 

 business. On we went, listening to the three old 

 hounds, who now began to close with their animal 

 and to run as fast as they could ; at last a horn in 

 their vicinity proclaimed the wolf, and called on the 



