310 THE WARWICKSHIRE HUNT. [1895 



Thompson, and two with Squire Trelawny in Cornwall. 

 In 1857-58 Sir Walter only had twenty-five days' hunting, 

 seven being with the Warwickshire. He seems to have 

 paid a brief visit to Leicestershire, hunting three times 

 with the Qnorn, and once with the Duke of Eutland. In 

 1858-59 he had forty-three days' hunting, twenty-one of 

 which were with the Warwickshire, commencing on 

 Friday, January 7th, 1859, at Wroxton New Inn. The 

 best da}^ seems to have been on Monday, January 24th, 

 when they met at Long Itchington, found at Debdale, and 

 killed at Grandborough — a good thing of thirty-two 

 minutes. Found again at Ufton Wood, and ran to Lad- 

 broke to a di-ain under the railroad (sic). On Tuesday, the 

 25th, they had also a capital day from Brailes. In 

 1859-60 he had three days in Devonshire, eight with the 

 Warwickshire, and nineteen in Leicestershire, where he 

 had very bad sport. In 1860 the diary closes, and seems 

 to have been put away when Lady Carew died ; and when 

 Sir* Walter laid down the hunting whip and took up the 

 oak stick, when he doffed the leathers and top boots for the 

 corduroy trousers, he seems to have thought it not worth 

 while to keep up his record of sport. All the same, he 

 hunted for many years more, both in DcA^onshire and 

 Warwickshire. Considering the many years that he 

 hunted, and how hard he rode at one time, it is wonderful 

 to see how few horses he owned. He was a very heav}' 

 man, but he would have bone and substance tvit/i hreedinfj. 

 He gave, of course, long prices, but considering the way 

 he galloped his horses he could not have been with hounds, 

 and have ridden the same horses for so many years without 

 a combination of both. Of course, he never sold a good 

 horse, but kept him through to the end. 



On what we have termed " the Empress of Austria's 

 Day " (see poem, "Shuckburgh Hill"), in January, 1878, 

 there were only two other ladies out, Miss Ashton and 

 Miss Davy. Miss Ashton, with her father, the late 

 Colonel Ashton, of Leamington, was a most constant 

 attendant of the Warwickshire Hounds until she married 



