286 THE WAEWICKSHIEE HUNT. [1866 



huntsman. AVlien I gave him the letter, he said, ' Have 

 you walked from Kineton, my little man ? If so, you must 

 be tired.' I was to go into the servants' hall to dine with 

 the huntsman and whips, as they always did so after 

 hunting. I had such a beastly sick headache, I could not 

 eat anjrthing, and the next morning I w^as so stiff I had a 

 difficulty in getting out of bed. I had a little breakfast, 

 and started home wuth a couple, and left the others for a 

 week. At the same time I brought Fugleman, and a nice 

 treat I had with him. When I got to the Tower, Edge 

 Hill, it commenced raining in torrents, and by the time I 

 got to the kennels I was beat. I don't think I could have 

 gone another mile. This was not a bad performance for 

 thirteen years of age. 



" The following summer a Mr. Cook took the Southwold 

 country, came to Kineton, and bought Stevens' draft, old 

 and young, twenty-four couples. Mr. Cook wanted them 

 taken to Banbury that afternoon, ready to go by train next 

 morning. Stevens said : * Bob, you can take them for 

 this gentleman.' It was so arranged, and my brother 

 went with me to put them to me. They were all loose, 

 except one couple of shy ones. Groing up Edge Hill one 

 of them jumped into the covert. My brother will never 

 forget, and often speaks about it, how I banged into him 

 for not keeping his eyes open. It rained in torrents all 

 the way to Banbury. I took them to Mr. W. Page's 

 Flying Horse, and put them in a coach house. Mrs. Page 

 — nice old lady — put us into some of her boys' clothes, and 

 dried ours in the kitchen. Next morning I took twelve 

 couples, and boxed them, and fetched the other twelve, and 

 boxed them without a single hitch. Mr. Cook wanted me 

 to go with him at that time and ride his second horse. 

 We walked home after they had started. Mr. Cook gave 

 us five shillings each. They did not overpay you in those 

 days. 



" Wlien the hounds hunted five days a week — two in the 

 country which is now North Warwickshire — during the 

 cubhunting Stevens had thirty couples at Milverton 



