200 THE WAEWICKSHIEE HUNT. [1890 



the gatherings of the Himt. (Hear, hear.) They all felt that one very great 

 charm of the hunting field -was the presence of the ladies, and although he 

 did not wish to he invidious, and to mention names, he could not refrain from 

 mentioning the pleasure which tliey felt in seeing Lady Willoughl)y, Miss 

 Verney, and others to whom he might refer did time permit, taking part in 

 their runs. The way in which they rode, and adorned their fields, was some- 

 thing they had reason to be proud of, as well as of the admiralile manner in 

 which Lord Willoughby carried out the duties of the mastership. (Applause.) 

 The speaker went on to remark that they had seen a good deal lately in the 

 papers about ladies riding astride. He could only say that he should be very 

 sorry to see them, and he thoiight most sportsmen would agree with him. One 

 reason was that it took them all tlieir time now to hold their own with the 

 ladies of the Warwickshire Hunt, and he was ashamed to say that sometimes 

 they could not even do that. If the ladies took to riding in the same manner 

 as they did he was afraid it would end in their riding clear away from them 

 altogether. (Laughter.) But in addition to that, he thought they adorned 

 the field much better under the present conditions. There had been a good 

 deal of speech-making, and he would not detain them longer, but he 

 asked them to drink with enthusiasm to the health of the ladies, and he 

 would couple with the toast the name of the Hon. Dudley Leigh. (Loud 

 applause.) 



The Hon. Dudley Leigh, in responding, said : Mr. Chairman, my lords, 

 and gentlemen, — Wlieu I was first told by Mr. Knott and Mr. Scriven that I 

 should be called upon to respond to this toast, I said I thought it had much 

 better be placed in abler hands than mine, as I know so very little about the 

 subject. (Laughter.) However, neither of them would take the hint, and so 

 I haA''e to do my best. Mr. Knott has already pointed out what a great 

 difference exists with regard to the presence of ladies in the hunting field 

 between these days and days of the past, when there was perhaps only one 

 lady to be seen across the fields. The practice of ladies joining in the sport 

 apj)ears to have been a matter of evolution. In tlio old days a young lady 

 would come out with her papa, not dreaming of riding to hoimds, but simply 

 in order to see them throw off. At last probably some young lady set the 

 example of jumping a fence, and found it was not so difficult after all, and 

 now the circumstances have so far changed that we are quite accustomed to 

 see ladies forging to the front, and Lucy Glitters indeed shows the way. 

 Now, my lords and gentlemen, I should like to talk about this fascinating 

 subject for hours, but I think that you proba1)ly would not bo prepared to 

 listen to me. I will therefore resume my seat, merely thanking you very 

 much on l^ehalf of tlie ladies for the kind manner in which you have received 

 the toast. (Ax^jilause.) 



This concluded the toast-list, and the company separated at eleven o'clock 

 with the singing of " God Save the Queen." 



During the evening several hunting songs and recitations were given 

 between the speeches, by members of the company, the vocalists being Mr. 

 Nash (Stratford), who sang the " Warwicksluro Hounds," and accompanied 

 himself on the banjo ; Mr. Cancellor, who gave a recitation describing " How 

 the favourite was beat," and sang the well-known chorus " Drink, puppy 

 drink"; Mr. Sykes, of Banbury, who gave a capital rendering of "A hunting 

 we will go," and " Good-bye, sweetheart," &c. 



The following is a copy of the song written for the occasion by Alderman 



