LITERATURE.

Globe, Volume XXIII, Issue 2260, 30 June 1881, Page 4

LITERATURE.

A RUN FOR LIFE. BY J. H. A. In my ynung days I was an enthusiastic entomologist, an 1 one summer v.a;.T;on I was delighted to receive an invitation from a bachelor cousin, Fred Vernon, to sp"nd a •week or two with him in a distant county. Fred was agent to b’quire Allhorpe, who owned pretty nearly the whole of the parish in which ha lived, and ns the Squire spent a good part of hia time away from home, I know I should be able to roam about tho place very much as I liked, and should therefore) have ample opportunities of adding to my collection of butt rllioa and ot,*er in sects. Krod and I had been at school to gether. and were much more intimate than is usually the case with relations ; but we had somehow lost sight of each other since, and on my part I was very gUd of an opportunity of renewing the old friendship. At the time of ray visit to Blankshire, the Sjnirewas away on the continent; and on tho morning after my ar ival, Fred having some leisure time at his disposal, propcsed that wo should take a ra able round the park and finish up by visiting the Squire’s kennels. The park waa a magnificent place, fully six hundred acres In extent, and well wooded Grand old oaks, graceful limes and hindaome ohesnnta were dotted here and there with picturesque irregularity ; while on each side of the hall were clumps of tho finest elm tress I bad ever seen, on which for ages past vast numbers of rooks had built their nests. A certain portion of the park Itself, about a third of the whole extent, was surrounded with high iron railings, put down to keep in the deer, of which there were about one hundred. Within the park was a small lake about twenty or thirty seres in extent, teeming with fish, surrounded on all aides by giant trees, and fringed with beds of waving reeds ; while farther out upon the water were patches of lilies, yellow and white, whose blossoms floated placidly on the unruffled surface. On the other side of the park, stretching far away inland, was an extensive heath, gently undulating, and nearly covered with patches of gorse and rough grass, whioh afforded covert for numerous partridges and hares and rabbits. Altogether the estate was a perfect sportsman’s paradise; while for the naturalist it offered unusual attractions as being the home of many different kinds of plants and flowers, and supplying food and shelter to insects of every kind. As for the dogs I saw at the kennel, I have never forgotten them. Each breed had its own especial department, and an assistant to see after it. Mach as the spaniels and Bettors interested me—for I waa a bit of a sportsman as well as a naturalist—l mast confess that a splendid pack of bloodhonnda struck mo most of all. Their wise, solemnlooking faces, with their gracefully pendulous ears, as fine and as soft as silk, were indeed a study. This pack, I was told, was not only celebrated for its appearance, but also for its work. They were trained to follow a trail, of biped as well as quadruped, with the most undevlating certainty ; and their presence In tho Sqnie’a kennels did more to check poaching than an army of gamekeepers While we were admiring the hounds the kennelman told us several tales in illustration of this fact. A few mornings after our visit to the kernels Fred to:d me, as we sat at breakfast, that he had some estate business to transact at the town a few miles off, which would require him to be from home nearly the whole day, 1 conld come with him. he said, if I choose ; bnt once at the town he must leave me to my own devices, and he opined that I should find it rather dull. With thanks for his offer. I assured him that 1 would much prefer an entomological expedition by myself on the heath to hanging about the town, bat at the aamo time I suggested that, if my services would render him any help, I would gladly sacrifice my own comfort to hia. With a langb, he said that 1 should only bo in the way if 1 came with him, and we settled the matter there and then. Alter breakfast Fred’s horse was bronght round to the door, and, with parting injunctions to mo to go where I like,,‘he rode off. Shortly after his departure, armed with my butterfly net, and a goodly store of collecting boxes for the reception of my spoils, I, too, started for a long solitary ramble across the heath. I had been gone, I suppose, rather more than a couple of hours, and had been wandering about here and there in an apparently aimless fashion in pursuit of specimens, visiting two or three old pits, and the varions hollows in the heath as 1 came to them, when, on mounting some rising ground, the deep notes of a bloodhound were borne faintly to me by the gentle breeze that was blowing from the direction of the kennels. As 1 listened, the sound appeared to grow a trifle more distinct, and then entirely died away. Thinking that the pack was out after an escaped deer, I did not pay much attention to what I heard, bnt proceeded on my way to the next bit of high ground, which, from its elevation would give me an opportunity of observing in the distance the cautions movements of the dogs. A brisk walk sufficed to bring me to the top of this spot, and here the deep, mellow voices of the honnds were heard more distinctly, and, as it seemed to me, sounded much nearer than on the previous occasion. They are coming this way, I thought to myself; and straining my eyes in the direction from which the aonnda came, I tried to distinguish the pack. This waa no easy matter, for the honnds were of a color not readily visible in the distance and on the burned grass of the heath. However I at last succeeded In making them out, and perceived they wore alone.

This surprised me, for Fred had mentioned that the kenaelman always accompanied them when they were out for exercise, or when they were being used to drive back any deer that had succeeded in getting over the high railings that surrounded this part of the park. As I watched them, they appeared to be slowly approaching in my direction, and to my astonishment they seemed, as nearly as I could tell, to be taking exaotly the same course, which was a very erratic one, as I had done. Spell-bound, I watched them disappear in one of the pita I had visited ; and as they vanished from my sight, (the music of their voices ceased, the sound waves being intercepted by the intervening ground. In a very short time they emerged from the pit, scrambling up the aide just Where I had come, and then hunting on in a compact body, led by one hound, which being slightly larger than the others, was on that account more conspicuous. Slowly they made for the next pit, giving tongue as they came on. Suddenly the thought flashed across my mind! ‘They have broken loose, and are hunting mo ' What was to be done ? Here was I, a stranger to the hounds, alone and unarmed in the middle of avast heath. No house or shelter of any hind was near. For a moment I was paralysed; but, collecting my thoughts, I began to turn about for some way of escape. That the hounds, if cnoe they cfeme up with me would attack me, I well know ; and all thoughts of attempting to resist them were out of the question. Hastily throwing eff the satchel, which, full of boxes and coses, was alung across my shoulders. 1 buttoned up my coat and started oil at a steady trot. My net, which was a strong and serviceable one, I kept in my band, thinking it might be of use. Scanning the very limited horizon eagerly to catch sight of any shelter that might be visible, I saw nothing that could help me. It was clear that my best chance of safety lay in my being able to foil the hounds by making them lose the trail. The talas I had read In my boyhood of the hairbreadth escapes of runaway slaves in Cuba flashed across my mind, and I suddenly recollected that In these stories water always held a prominent part. To cist my eyes round in seirch of a stream was the work of a moment, but, as may be imagined, on the high ground where I was, no stream was possible. No time was to be lost, for already the notes of pursuers sounded clearer and olearer. showing that they were gaining on me. I dare not run at too great a speed, for I knew I should soon become exhausted. The undulating nature of the ground made It very hard work for me ; but for ail that, it was not nnmixed evil, as it prevented the hounds, which now gained steadily on mo, quitting the trail to run by sight. On descending a slope, I was delighted to behold a l° n g and somewhat winding pool of

Here, thought I, is my ohanoe, and I immediately made for it. The run was beginning to tell upon me, and I knew well that the reduction in my speed, rendered necessary by injjhaving to wade almost knee deep in water, would enable me to recover my breath somewhat. Fortunately the water was not deop—little more than a foot —and after a few step* the bottom was fairly firm and hard. My progress was not only slow, but very fatign ing, and nearer came the hounds. After wading about a hundred yards a strongff gust of wind than usual wafted the deep tones of my pursuers even more closely to my ears, and the fear that my ruse might not bo successful compelled me to quit the water once more and toil wearily up the sloping side of the miniature glen in which the pool was situated. Once on the summit of the slope 1 paused and looked boh.nd to catch, if possible, a hurried glimpse of my pursuers. To my horror, I saw them stream over the hill, and make straight for the spot where I entered the water. Here, as I had hoped, the hounds wore puzzled, but only for a little. I was rapidly becoming exhausted with my long run, and more than once I was tempted to atop and collect a heap of atones and try to keep the honnda at bay until help should arrive. Reflecting, however, that it might be an hour or two before the kennelman discovered the whereabouts of his lost pack, 1 gave up the Idea for the present and moved on with all the speed I could master. Since 10.-ing my trail the hounds had been silent, and I began to flatter myself that they had lost the track, when suddenly the recommencement of their cries told me that they had hit off the aoent again. On, on I tottered, my head reeling and my eyes swimming with the unwonted exertion. Thoughts of the home I might never see again floated across my brain, and renewed my failing strength. My pursuers were gaining fast now, and already no more than a couple of hundred yards intervened between ns. Presently a sudden Increase in the music behind—which just then was anything but music to mo—caused me to look round, when I found that the honnda had viewed their quarry, and with heads in the air, were racing on at well nigh double their former speed. Increasing my pace without even looking where I ran, Ijoaught roy foot in a tnft of grass and nearly fell, turning half round in my efforts to save myself. It was a fortunate trip for me; for at a short distance off, on my right, I saw a stunted oak, nearly dead it is true, bnthigb enough to afford me a safe resting-place. If only I could climb np into the branches before the dogs reached me. If I had not tripped I should have passed this tree without seeing It until it was too late to be of service to me, for it was hidden by some higher ground from my view until I reached the spot where I nearly fell, and I was past it. With the little strength I had left I dashed for the tree ; but, to my dismay. I saw that the lower branches were beyond my reach. No time was to bo lost, for already the hounds were close at hand. Suddenly I remembered that I had my butterfly net, which providentially was strong and serviceable, in my band ; and on reaching the foot of the tree I hooked the ring of the net over the broken stnmp of a bough, and by dint of almost superhuman exertion I managed I hardly know how, to scale the rough bark and drag myself into the polled head of the tree. I waa only just In time, for as I reached this place of safety the hounds wore round the foot of the tree baying furiously. Feeling a deadly faintness creeping over me, I bad enough presence of mind left to undo the stout leather belt I wore round my waist and fasten myself by it to one of the branches. Then the baying of the hounds, the rustling of the leaves, and as I fancied, the blowing of a horn, were mingled together in a confused murmur, and 1 swooned. When I recovered consciousness I waa stretched on the ground, my head supported on the knees of the old kennelman, while one of his assistants was attempting to pour a little brandy through my clenched teeth. My old pursuers were lying on the ground close by, watching the proceedings with solemn indifference, and a couple of horses were cropping the grass a feir paces away. I was soon sufficiently restored to monnt one of the horses, and as we walked slowly home the old man told me how it happened that the bonnds had broken loose, tie had taken them out for a run on the heath as usual, he said, when suddenly they appeared, to hit off a trail of some kind. Thinking, as I did, when I first heard them that one of the deer had escaped from the park, he eu•onraged them to follow np the scent, and as he was riding over some rough ground his horse pat its foot in a rabbit’s burrow and fell, throwing him heavily. The old man waa somewhat stunned by the fall, and when ho came to himself he found that the hounds were away, and the horse had evidently gone back to the stables. Thither he al-o hastened and found his horse; and, taking one of his ‘ help’ with him, he set off in search of the honnds. Meanwhile these had followed np the trail by themselves, with the results mentioned above. The two men rode after them as well as they conld, having only the sound, and that at times very faint, to guide them. The nature of the ground over which they were riding obliged them to proceed slowly ; and it was some time probably after I had fainted, that Instead of the deer they expected to find, they had come upon me hanging by my belt in the tree. ‘ Would the hounds have killed me if I had not been able to find shelter ? ’ I presently asked. •Yes, most certainly they would.’ waa the old man’s reply, 'if they had been left to tjjemselvea.’ What a narrow escape I felt I had had 1 Bat for the refuge of the solitary tree my life would have been certainly sacrificed. When at length I reached my consul’s bouse, the reaction consequent upon the intense excitement of the past few hours bad begun, and I had to betake myself to bed, where a raging fever detained mo for a few weeks. Daring all that period my thoughts were occupied with the fearful experiences of that day 0-1 the moor; and even now, though restored to my former health and vigor, it is not without a shudder that 1 am able to think of that run for my life.