144 THE WARWICKSHIRE HUNT. [1886 



Talking of hard riders, and a good many come out 

 from the Pytchley side when the hounds meet at Lower 

 Shuckburgh or Long Itehington, Captain Smith* told us 

 a good story of a true incident which happened to Mr. 

 (ieorge Parker, who has hunted so many years from 

 Melton. He had a heavy fall, and a man jumj^ed on him ; 

 another man jumped on both. Mr. Parker, naturally 

 enough, began to abuse the last comer, who retorted, 

 ■'Don't swear at me, sir, there was another man between 



55 



US. 



AVe hope we are not transgressing the boundaries of the 

 hunting countries when we tell another of Captain Smith's 

 of the celebrated Tom Pirr. He was very much persecuted 

 by two very hard riders, Mr. S. and Mr. T. One day 

 Mr. T. was not out, but Mr. S. was very persistent in his 

 attentions. At last Firr could stand it no longer, so he 

 halted opposite a very impracticable place, and said to his 

 attendant : "If Mr. T. was out I should not have to wait 

 for someone to make a hole for me." Mr. S. took the hint, 

 and disappeared head over heels into the next field. Tom 

 then cast the hounds the other way, as he had intended to 

 do, and saw his tormentor no more that day. We have 

 heard it said that this truly great man would have been 

 Prime Minister, if fortunately he had not been brought up 

 as a huntsman. 



Lord North kindly sent us the following particulars : 

 " On one occasion we were going to draw Itehington Holt 

 from the Harbury side. Having some business to talk 

 over with Mr. Chandos Leigh, I had lagged behind. 

 Mr. Leigh, on reaching the Holt, rode on, but I changed 

 my horse, ate my sandwiches, and then dawdled on into 

 the main ride, expecting to see it lighted up as usual with 

 scarlet coats. Not a soul to be seen ! not a sound to be 

 heard ! So on I trotted towards Gaydon, where I met a 



* Cuinously enough Captain Smith has only hunted once in his life with the 

 Warvnckshire, and then he went to Lord Willoughby at a long check, and said, " A man 

 here saw the fox." The hounds did not own it. It turned out afterwards the mait 

 had seen a fos thei'e a week ago. — W. R. V. 



