62 MEMORIES OF THE SHIRES 



whose route home lay with the pack saw Ella's 

 Gorse drawn. The result was a five-and-thirty 

 minutes' racing gallop, and there are men in Melton 

 now who bewail that lost opportunity. This was 

 the end of a fortnight's beautiful spring weather, 

 and before the middle of the week the ground was 

 covered with snow, there being at least six inches 

 of it on Friday, gth March. I suppose the country 

 to the north of the Wreake was getting short of 

 foxes as the Quorn met at Great Dalby on Monday, 

 19th March. There was some frost and snow still 

 left, but the " going " on the whole was very good. 

 We found a capital fox in Gartree Hill, and had one 

 of the most enjoyable days of the season. Hounds 

 ran fast through the Punchbowl, and leaving 

 Somerby to the left went nearly to Owston village, 

 but bearing to the right they crossed a beautiful 

 line and lost their fox in between Tilton and 

 Skefhngton. A good six-mile point. 



The next Monday provided us with one of the 

 fastest gallops of the season. The morning had 

 been spent in walking after a fox in the neighbour- 

 hood of Lodge-in-the-Wolds, and as there did not 

 seem much chance of sport, very few went on to see 

 Ella's Gorse drawn. A fox went away at once 

 with hounds close at his brush, and for twenty-eight 

 minutes they raced him without a check. Another 

 few seconds would have sealed his fate, but the 

 main earths in Shoby Scoles were open and he 

 just reached them with not more than a yard or 

 two to spare. 



We were bothered with both frost and snow at 

 intervals nearly up to the end of March, and then 

 the weather became suddenly warm again. The 



