104 MEMORIES OF THE SHIRES 



not easily turned aside by the stiffest fence. Hounds 

 were away out of the covert on the back of their 

 fox, raced down alongside of the bottom nearly to 

 Burton, and then, swinging left-handed, went straight 

 away to Hoby. Thirty minutes at top speed over 

 the finest country in the world is something to have 

 lived for. 



Unfortunately the villagers of Hoby hallooed us 

 on to a fresh fox, and though hounds ran on for 

 another forty minutes they had to be stopped, as 

 every horse was " stone cold," and it was nearly 

 dark. 



I remember that good sportsman, Lord Harring- 

 ton, was going exceptionally well amongst the big 

 fences in the Hoby Vale, which must have seemed 

 enormous after the South Notts country. At that 

 time he was hunting his own hounds four and five 

 days a week, but he liked to get an occasional day 

 with the Quorn, and you could always be sure that 

 on those occasions he could hold his own with, the 

 best talent from Melton. His is yet another face 

 that we shall miss when the hunting world re- 

 assembles, though his death was not caused by the 

 war. I hear it was blood-poisoning through a 

 slight cut, and it seems hard luck to be laid low by 

 such a small thing after having hunted for forty 

 years with numerous falls and accidents. 



I do not think I ever had a day with his pack ; 

 but have always understood they hunted very well 

 and showed excellent sport. The last time we met 

 he offered to mount me any day I liked to fix, and 

 that was one of the good things I had promised 

 myself after thp war. 



In addition to the South Notts country, which 



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