‘Well, do you know,’ replied his lordship, ’when I saw that unrighteous snob, I was near sick.  If it were possible for a man to faint, I should have thought I was going to do so.  At first I thought of going home, taking the hounds away too; then I thought of going myself and leaving the hounds; then I thought if I left the hounds it would only make the sinful scaramouch more outrageous, and I should be sitting on pins and needles till they came home, thinking how he was crashing among them.  Next I thought of drawing all the unlikely places in the country, and making a blank day of it.  Then I thought that would only be like cutting off my nose to spite my face.  Then I didn’t know what on earth to do.  At last, when I saw the critter’s great pecker steadily down in his plate, I thought I would try and steal a march upon him, and get away with my fox while he was feeding; and, oh! how thankful I was when I looked back from Bramblebrake Hill, and saw no signs of him in the distance.’

‘It wasn’t likely you’d see him,’ interrupted Jack, ’for he never got away from the front door.  I twigged what you were after, and kept him up in talk about his horses and his ridin’ till I saw you were fairly away.’

‘You did well,’ exclaimed Lord Scamperdale, patting Jack on the back; ’you did well, my old buck-o’-wax; and, by Jove! we’ll have a bottle of port—­a bottle of port, as I live,’ repeated his lordship, as if he had made up his mind to do a most magnificent act.

‘But what’s happened you behind?—­what’s happened you behind?’ asked Jack, as his lordship turned to the fire, and exhibited his docked tail.

‘Oh, hang the coat!—­it’s neither here nor there,’ replied his lordship; ‘hat neither,’ he added, exhibiting its crushed proportions.  ’Old Blossomnose did the coat; and as to the hat, I did it myself—­at least, old Daddy Longlegs and I did it between us.  We got into a grass-field, of which they had cut a few roods of fence, just enough to tempt a man out of a very deep lane, and away we sailed, in the enjoyment of fine sound sward, with the rest of the field plunging and floundering, and holding and grinning, and thinking what fools they were for not following my example—­when, lo and behold!  I got to the bottom of the field, and found there was no way out—­no chance of a bore through the great thick, high hedge, except at a branchy willow, where there was just enough room to squeeze a horse through, provided he didn’t rise at the ditch on the far side.  At first I was for getting off; indeed, had my right foot out of the stirrup, when the hounds dashed forrard with such energy—­looking like running—­and remembering the tremendous climb I should have to get on to old Daddy’s back again, and seeing some of the nasty jealous chaps in the lane eyeing me through the fence, thinking how I was floored, I determined to stay where I was; and gathering the horse together, tried to squeeze through the hole.  Well, he went shuffling and sliding down to it, as though he were conscious of the difficulty, and poked his head quietly past the tree, when, getting a sight of the ditch on the far side, he rose, and banged my head against the branch above, crushing my hat right over my eyes, and in that position he carried me through blindfold.’