HISTORICAL NOTES 97 



enormous quantity of pheasants which were within 

 20 yards of the road is scarcely to be credited ; 

 there were nearly 100 of them close together hke 

 a flock of pigeons. Unluckily for me, but luckily 

 for His Grace, it poured so hard that I never 

 could have unpacked my gun, otherwise the guard 

 and coachman would readily have brought to for 

 action. 



Oct. \st^ 1847. — Only two pheasants on all my 

 estate — both cocks, and both came home to the 

 larder, after as hard and grand a chase with a 

 village rabble as ever old Smith had with his 

 crack foxhounds. We had five hours of it, before 

 the two birds came to hand. 



Oct. 2nd, 1848. — Usual early start to scour our 

 woods and every place in bounds. After some 

 hard fagging for hours, with markers well planted, 

 there at last sprung up an old cock pheasant. 

 The old cock then made for our wood, which 

 obliged us to beat it all over a second time, 

 though to no purpose, till I luckily twigged the 

 old rascal at perch, and of course blew him down, 

 thus bringing to the larder one pheasant. 



Came home to lunch, meaning to turn out 

 again and beat the rest of the day for a hen bird 

 that had been seen yesterday, but there set in such 

 a determined wet afternoon that I dismissed my 

 followers. About five the rain abated, and I 

 went off in hopes of catching the hen at feed, but 

 without success. At one time dreaded a blank, 

 but got aU right by bagging three rabbits. 



