THE EIGHTH DUKE OF BEAUFORT 



Furze, of which one who was present writes : " The 

 hounds were no sooner thrown in than reynard was 

 out," and went off in gallant style across the open 

 country for Sir Charles Cockerell's plantation at 

 Sezincote (crossing the turnpike road leading from 

 Broadway to Stow), and thence, leaving Bourton-on- 

 the-Hill to the left, he went direct for Welford 

 Wood, a covert belonging to the Warwickshire 

 Hunt ; but, on coming to a check, the huntsman 

 made an unfortunate cast, and we lost our fox within 

 a short distance of Moreton-in-Marsh ; and although 

 we did not kill him, I never remember a more severe 

 thing in the whole course of my life, the distance 

 from the place of finding to the point where the 

 hounds threw up being nine miles in thirty minutes 

 over a stone wall country. 



" Out of a well-mounted field of from two hundred 

 and fifty to three hundred horsemen there were 

 only two up at the first check (which was for a 

 moment), and these were that well-known sports- 

 man, the Rev. Mr. Winniatt, of Temple Greeting, on 

 his chestnut mare ; and a young gentleman on a 

 dark-brown horse, whom I afterwards understood 

 to be Mr. Woodward, from the neighbourhood of 

 Pershore, in Worcestershire, a first-rate performer 

 across a country." Of this good gallop I give the 

 distance and time as stated, but it might well have 

 been a good run and yet have taken much longer. 

 If there was no mistake as to time, it was a most 

 remarkable performance. The point on the hunt- 



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