108 THE WARWICKSHIRE HUNT. [1884 



vale of the Red Horse ; the going was soimd, and only a trifle 

 on the deep side ; the fences were all fair and strong ; there 

 was no dread thrill then, no ominous " whisper of wire ; " 

 you could take your place where you liked, and you had 

 no fear even of a boggy landing or a second ditch. About 

 three ploughed fields were crossed, and one of these only 

 at the end, and the hounds only entered one covert, if that 

 tiny spinney, A'^erney's Gorse, can be so dignified. There 

 was only one check, and that near the finish, and although 

 the point from where they found to where they killed was 

 not more than nine miles, hounds must have travelled in 

 pursuit not less than twenty-five, while the time, as will 

 be seen by Sir Charles Mordaunt's diary, was two hours 

 and twenty minutes. I refer you to his account for an 

 easy computation in arithmetic, showing the average of 

 the sustained pace kept up throughout. I may say that 

 there were only two drawbacks to the whole day, though 

 they rather add to than detract from the quality of the 

 run : (1) That more sportsmen did not get to the end; 

 (2) that two horses died, and a third was never much used 

 again. And now to my own account. If I omit, as I shall, 

 the names of very many, I hope I shall be excused, as 

 more than ten years have elapsed, and though I asked 

 friends to send their names, not very many have responded 

 to my appeal. I even forget what sort of morning it was, 

 but as far as I remember it had been a little stormy, 

 clearing up, and turning out w^arm. I had been attending 

 the Board of Guardians at Southam, eight miles away to 

 the eastward of my home, and I told my groom to meet 

 me at the corner of Chesterton Wood about two o'clock 

 with old Chance. Chance was, as I said, nearly clean 

 thoroughbred, and had once won the Queen of Naples' 

 Cup at Towcester. He was bought by Lord AVilloughby, 

 and gave him the w^orst fall over some rails at Bloxham 

 Gorse he ever had in his life. He had a curious 

 depression in his withers through an accident, and 

 had a nasty habit of galloping into any open ditch in a 

 field, and turning end over end. Lord Willoughby sold 



