18681 BOB WOERALL AND LORD COVENTRY. 307 



From Sir C. Mordaunt's diary : 



On January Hist tlio meet Avas at Brailes, but we did not find until we 

 got to Bowsliot, from which covevt we had a very brilliant run. The fox 

 went away at once, and ran, leaving- LijL»'hthorne Rough to the left, to Chads- 

 hunt, and from thence, leaving Itchington Holt to the left, by Gaydon, nearly 

 to Burton Hill, where he was headed, and turned back through Gaydon 

 Spinney in the direction of Kineton ; thence bearing to the right, ho crossed 

 the road between there and Chadsliunt, and the hounds killed him in the 

 open Just before he readied Lighthorne Rough, after running for forty-three 

 minutes without a check. Bob Worrall gave me the head of the fox, which 

 is still in good ^jreservation in the hall at Walton. I was well carried by 

 Milk Maid, a white mare of only 15.2 in height, bought from Lord Raglan 

 for 60/., and sold afterwards at Tattersall's to Sir Thomas Whichcote for 

 230 guineas. 



Bob Worrall's diary {continued) : 



23>-(7. Harbunj Station. — Found at Ladbroke. Ran to the Burton Hills. 

 Lost him. Supposed to have got to ground. 



27^/i, Barford Bridye. — -Very good day. Kilhnl two foxes. 



28th, Mitford Bridge. — A capital day. Running all day. Killed two 

 foxes. 



SOtli, Wellesbourne Village. — Useful day, and a very hard one. Killed 

 one fox. 



31st, Sioalcliffe House. — A rare day's sport. Killed two foxes. 



February 3rd, Great Kineton. — Good gallop from Kineton Holt, with a 

 kill. 



4th, Mitford Bridge. — Vei-y hard unsatisfactory day ; bad luck ; foxes 

 got headed, and one gentleman overrode homids ; drove them over the 

 Hue of the fox at a road. I told this gentleman if he had to hunt 

 hounds he would be more careful. This gentleman (Lord Coventry*) after 

 this became master of hounds, and hunted them, and I hope he profited by 

 this lesson I gave him quietly. 



6th, Long Itchington. — Rare day's sport. Very good scent. Killed a fox. 



February 1th, Bytham House.- — Capital day's sport; galloping and 

 jumping all day. Killed one fox. 



ll//(, Ilmington.—YcYj fair day. Killed one fox. 



14^/i, Wroxton Abbey. — We had a very good day. Ran over a deal of 

 trying coimtry, and killed ou.r last fox at Sliutford. 



17th, Goldicote House. — Very useful day. Killed one fox. 



18th, Weston House. — Very good day ; running all day. Killed one fox. 



20th, ShucJcburgh. — Verj' good gallop, with a kill. 



21s^, Church Tysoe. — "We had a fine run from Silencer's Gorse to ground 

 at Whichford Wood. This Avas pronounced by all to be a capital run. 



* Lord Coventry, master of the North Cotswold, the Croome, aud now Her 

 Majesty's Buckliouuds, is, as everyone knows, a first-rate sportsman, and at that time 

 he was a very hard rider. One day lie emulated Stephen Goodall's feat of jumping the 

 white gates on the railway, and then the Evenlode. A friend of ours from Christ 

 Church — Mr. " Charlie " Mainwaring — on a horse called Wyndham, tried to follow 

 him. He managed the gates, but went splash into the river. Charlie got pretty well 

 chaffed that evening, I remember. — W. E. V. 



X 2 



