Poor innocent
AEgeus very often has to do penance for the infidelity of Jason.
I have little more to tell, and that is of the sort that is best told
briefly.
The hounds met one morning not far from Kerton. A three-days' frost had
broken up; but it was not out of the ground yet, making the "take-off"
slippery, and the north side of the fences dangerously hard. Livingstone
rode the Axeine that day. The chestnut was still his favorite, and the
crack hunter of three counties, though he had never lost his habit of
pulling.
It was a large, straggling cover that we drew, but the fox went away
very soon. From the lower end of the wood a great pasture sloped down,
at the bottom of which was a flight of post-and-rails--very high, new,
and strong, with a deep cutting on the farther side. At one end of this
was an open gate, through which the whole field passed.
The hounds were just settling to the scent, when I happened to turn my
head, and saw Livingstone coming down at the rails. He had got a bad
start, and saw that, by taking them straight in his line, he would gain
greatly on the pack, which was turning toward him.
As the Axeine tore down the hill at furious speed, pulling double, it
was evident that neither he nor his rider had the remotest idea of
refusing.
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