AUTUMN DAYS 



There was, of course, a crowd to see the Duke, 

 who rode up on a wonderful dark bay horse he 

 had then, with Lady Blanche Somerset and Lord 

 Edward. Lord Worcester had a chestnut of the 

 big blood-horse stamp he has made so familiar 

 to followers of the hunt, and he brought out the 

 bitch pack. These were drawn a little fine, but it 

 was late in the season, and Hamblin believed in 

 condition. If hounds had it not they would never 

 reach the end of a long day in that deep and 

 holding county. 



A still longer excursion was made into the New 

 Forest on April 24th, 1875. The charm of spring 

 hunting in the New Forest cannot be exaggerated, 

 but the difficulties for the huntsman are very great 

 indeed. It was something of a trial to Lord Wor- 

 cester, for, as is usually the case in the New Forest 

 in the spring, there were several masters present. 

 Besides Sir Reginald Graham, of the New Forest, 

 the list included such sportsmen as Mr. Portman 

 and Mr. Villebois. 



The New Forest is a difficult country to kill 

 foxes in, but Lord Worcester succeeded, or rather 

 his hounds did ; for just as he was blowing the 

 pack out of covert, believing the fox to be lost, 

 some two couple that had remained behind came 

 out spotted with blood. The Duke thought these 

 hounds had perhaps killed their fox. So it proved, 

 for on Lord Worcester taking the rest back, they 

 found the fox dead where the hounds had left him. 



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