60 THE WARWICKSHIRE HUNT. [I88O 



witli liis back to the wall. The dog remained under 

 ground for a quarter of an hour, and then came out, 

 showing marks of ha^dng been very severely handled. 

 The next strongest dog was then put in, and he remained 

 there for twenty minutes, and came out quite as much 

 bitten as the first had been, without having moved the 

 badger. Mr. Shirley then loosed his best dog into the 

 earth, and placed himself above one of the openings, having 

 in his hands a very thin, strong pair of nipjDers made like 

 tongs. After this dog had been in the earth for ten 

 minutes the badger began to move, and as he passed by 

 the opening Mr. Shirley caught him by the back of 

 the neck with the nippers, and pulled him out ; he 

 weighed 371b. The doa: last mentioned was of famous 

 repute. Mr. Shirley gave ninety-five guineas for him, and 

 refused a much larger sum for him. During the next 

 spring there was a litter of cubs bred in this earth as 

 formerly. 



Some curious incidents have happened as regards people 

 getting on the TVTong horses. The late Mr. Evelyn Shirley, 

 M.P. for South Warwickshire, was not a hunting man, but 

 he went out riding sometimes. On one occasion he rode to 

 attend a meeting ; there were a good many others there in 

 carriages, but not many on horseback. Notwithstanding 

 this, he managed, being rather short-sighted, to mount 

 another man's horse, and to ride him home without finding 

 out his mistake, until it was pointed out to him when he 

 dismounted at his own door. 



On another occasion a well-known clergyman, who was 

 a good shot and cricketer, although he did not appear in 

 the hunting field, rode his only horse, a chesnut standing 

 15.3, to a clerical meeting. He returned on a brown horse, 

 standing about 14.3, belonging to a reverend brother, 

 who, in his turn, had no choice except to ride home on the 

 first mentioned horse, not having the least idea as to whom 

 it belonged. It is said that several days were occupied by 

 the owners of these horses in riding about the country 

 before they found out how to sort them, but this is not 



