1886] A DAY BY INVITATION. 141 



found his way bai'k to tlie keiiuels l)y hkkI.* He rotuniod on tlie 31st, noin- 

 the worse, and hunted on Aj)ril 6tli. 



From Sir 0. Mordaunt's diary : 



On March 23rd the Warwicksliire hounds, by invitation, had a day in 

 Leicestershire, in the Cottesmore country. I left Eatiugton Station at 5.30 in 

 the morning, and got back there at 10.30. 1 much looked forward to a day 

 in the country where 1 had formerly liunted, and I little thought at that time 

 (in 1864) that it would l)e possible to leave home and see Ranksborough 

 di-awu at twelve, and have a long day's hunting, and return. Although, owing to 

 the l)ad foxes at Ranksborough, and a long blank draw afterwards of Launde 

 Wood, Overton Park Woo4, aiid Lady Wood, we did not have a good day, 

 the Leicestershire field, consisting of about 450, were much pleased by seeing' 

 such a pack of hounds as the Warwickshire. We got away with a good fox 

 from Owston Wood, and the hounds were running quite well enough down 

 the Twyford Vale (that most beautiful part of Leicestershire) to have con- 

 tinued, if we had not had a false holloa on the railway. The man who 

 Jwlloaed said the fox had crossed the line, whereas he had gone down it for a 

 short distance, and came back again. The master had some distance to go 

 to an arch uiuler the line, and to return after having found the fox had never 

 crossed it. By that time it was too late, but the hounds showed a line down 

 the Vale. Only Mr. Claridge, of Warwick, besides myself, were out from 

 our country. 



This notable expedition was arranged and persoua//^ 

 conducted by Mr. Walter Gore Marshall, the squire of 

 Hambleton. I have heard it said that several of those 

 hunting' that day, I will not call them the Cottesmore field, 

 never found out all the time that they were not hunting 

 with the usual pack. Viscount V. told me that some one 

 asked the farmers what they thought of Lord Willoughby, 

 and that they answered that " they thought he was a very 

 good huntsman and a very affable gentleman." Mr. 

 Algernon Rushout, Master of the North Cotswold, had a 

 day given him on this Tuesday in Wolford Wood. I 

 believe he had a very fair day, but did not kill a fox. — 

 W. R. V. 



From Lord Willoughby de Broke's diary : 



March 25th, JJfton Wood. — Found at Debdale ; got away at once, and i-an 

 nearly to Leamington Hastings, turned to the left, and went nearly to the 

 Leam, and l)y Leamington Hastings and hill straight for Calcote, but turned 

 to the left before getting there, and ran straight for Flecknoe. The fox was 



* A very remarkable performance. Tliis hound was away for a week, subsisting 

 on any food he could get, and returned to the Kennels from High Leicestershire, a 

 distance of not less than tiftv miles. Mr. Fred. Hamlvu tald mo another hound was 

 leftout.— W, E. V. 



