262 THE WARWICKSHIRE HUNT. [1894 



thence to the rig-ht over the Baiil)uiy Road, and to gronnd at Oxhill Gorse. 

 Another fox went a^yay, and hounds ran by Kirhy House to Spencer's Gorse, 

 and thence very fast over Compton Wyniates Hill, to ground at the Warren. 



" Eusticus Expectans," in the Field, has a spirited 

 account of a very good day's sport from Compton Yerney 

 on January 1 8th, the day after the Hunt Ball. 



I daresay some of the strangers who came down to the Hunt Ball, and 

 were out to-day (January 18th), thought that we conducted our hunting 

 operations on somewhat strange and imusual lines. Instead of waiting at the 

 meet to talk over the events of the night before, the music and the supper, &c., 

 hounds moved off exactly at the si)ecified time, found directly, ran for twenty 

 minutes hard, and killed. After another out of the same drain, ran hard for 

 another twenty minutes, and killed. Found again in ten minutes, ran for 

 forty minutes, and lost. Went straight off, found again in another ten 

 minutes, and so on. Every hunt conducts its plan of operations in its own 

 way, and ours is certainly not the " Great Dawdle Hunt." In fact, I daresay 

 that some of the overnight partners never foregathered again, and that the 

 soft confidences were consequently never renewed. I know for one that there 

 were lots of friends out whom I never had time to see or speak to. One man 

 in particular shouted to me l)y my old college nickname, said he had not seen 

 me for years, thanked mo for a lead over a rail, and so we parted, perhaps not to 

 meet again for another decade, unless this catches his eye and he sends name and 

 address, for I have not the slightest idea who he was or where he came from. 



"The nearer the meet, the later the start," might be added to the list of 

 family and hunting proverbs, which includes "the farther from home, the 

 harder the seat," &c. Still, it was a pity to miss the meet at Compton 

 Verney on Thursday, January 18th, the day after the Hunt Ball. No prettier 

 sight could be Avitnessed in mid-winter in any county in England. It was a 

 splendid morning, and even the ball-goers turned up in good time, putting us 

 lazy ones to shame. They say there is nothing like a good gallop after a ball 

 to set you all right, and we had that to-day ; in fact, we had done a day's 

 work by half-past one or two o'clock. Mr. and Mrs. Cassel had a i>arty at 

 Compton Verney, and I noticed amongst others Count Metternich on the 

 gallant grey, and I hope he enjoyed his ride on him as much as I did, and, 

 needless to say, there was a friendly welcome and the usual hospitality for all 

 comers, late and early. Who would have thought of finding two foxes in a kali 

 field, and yet this is what happened on Mr. Basil Hanbury's farm. Before I 

 got my little chap fairly into the saddle they had found, and were running 

 hard to Chadshunt, along tlie boundary fence. We had to send the pon.es 

 along to catch them, biit they turned away from us at the big field, and 

 chased him down to Kinetou, where he went into the culvert by the railway 

 bridge. Two came out, and hoimds caught the second, which they said 

 was the hunted one ; but away they went with the other, and there was 

 evidently a clinking scent, past the station, King John's Well, or rather 

 wliere it used to be l^eforo the new waterworks were put up — it is now 

 superseded by a gas engine, so marches time and change along — then 

 by Brookhampton Farm, and, Avitli no check, past or through the New 

 Covert, I could not quite see which, as I had made a baddish turn, down 

 to Combroke. There was a check here on the North Side Allotments, 



