286 THE WAEWICKSHIEE HUNT. [1894 



Gorse to the left, viugiug to the right, pointing for the Wormleighton 

 Spinneys, which were, however, discarded, and passed on the right, and after 

 traversing a nice line of country, they were unfortunately beaten on the way 

 to Watergall. As soon as the hounds could 1)e got together again, tracks 

 were made for home. 



From Sir C. Mordaunt's diary : 



On Thursday, Deceviber 20th, the meet was at Harbnry Village on a fine 

 cold morning. Ufton "Wood was drawn first, and the hounds got away very 

 soon with a fox, and ran him over the Great Western Railway, part of tlie 

 way to Wliitnash Gorse, but turned back, and lost him close to Harbnry 

 Village. Itchington Holt was next (b•a\^^l, and a fox of unusual size was 

 viewed across the ride, and it is believed that this was a well-known fox 

 which had been several times before seen in Bishop's Gorse. He was only 

 five minutes in covert before he went away. Jack Boore, who on that day 

 was hianting the hounds in the absence of the master, got them away close to 

 the fox, and they ran at a great pace in the direction of Chesterton Wood, but 

 turned to the right, and went past Harbury Heath, and, leaving Chesterton 

 Windmill on the left, crossed the Great Western Railway north of the 

 Harbury Cutting. Nearly the whole of the field went to tliis point, and coiild 

 not get across the line. Knowing that there was no In'idge at that place, I 

 did not go tliere, luit galloped as fast as I could through Harliury Village and 

 over the railway bridge. In the meantime the hounds had gone nearly to 

 ITft(m Village, and after turning to the right crossed the Harbury and Long 

 Itchington Road just in front of me. Captain Powell, of the 3rd Batt. 

 Warwickshire Regiment, and Tom, the second whip, who had gone over a 

 liridge lower do^vn the railway, alone were with them. The pack ran on still 

 at their l)est pace down to the river Itchen and across it. We liad to go 

 round to the bridge at Stoney Thorpe to get across, and we tlien got into the 

 Baul)ury and Soiitham Road as soon as we could, and found that the hounds 

 had crossed it ten minutes in front of us. Tom had gone in a different 

 direction, and we went on alone, sometimes getting nearer to the hounds, l)ut 

 never into the same field vriUi them. The number of people in the fields, 

 many of whom ran after the pack for as long as they could see them, gave lis 

 a sufficient guide to enable us to ride the line of the hounds. They passed to 

 the left of the spinney on Windmill Hill at Ladbroke, and ran nearly to the 

 Welsh Road. Here they turned right-handed, and Avent l)y Upper and Lower 

 Radbourne and Will's Pasture, and across the Watergall Brook. Near this point 

 we were joined by Mr. Burt, on a very good gi'ey liorse ; Mr. Margetts, jun.. on 

 Mr. Cookson's well-known horse Paul Jones, by Buccaneer, bred by the late 

 Squire Liicy ; and Mr. Hamilton. The brook was very full of Avater, ])ut 

 Reveller, who had been can-ying me well, jumped it first with plenty to 

 spare, and the others all got well over. The pack ran on, leaving Watergall 

 Covert to the right, over the Ham Brook and the Great Western Railway, 

 and thrcAV up two fields from Fenny Compton Village. Tliey had traversed 

 eleven miles of country in a Avide ring in an hour and ten minutes, and 

 they were never out of a grass field. We found there were fourteen and 

 a half couples, and Ave had got them together and commenced to take them 

 back to the kennels AA'hen Tom came up, and vnih him Mr. Goodman. They 

 told us that Jack Boore AA'as a mile further liack Avith tlie remainder of the 

 pack, so he took them l)ack to him. This AA^as. no doubt, the run of the 



