LORD MIDDLETON.— 1816. 121 



Found again — and again all are anxious and gay, 

 And our fox in his cunning made dexterous play ; 

 He pick'd, as in spite, the worst route he could find, 

 Not caring, it seem'd, for the trailers behind. 

 His speed to our nags told a troublesome tale, 

 As he led us some miles o'er a strong and deep vale. 

 The Oxfordshire hills he next ventur'd to face. 

 And gave us enough of his rate and his pace ; 

 Yet we ran the stout felon, at Ditchley, to ground. 

 Eighteen miles from the covert in which he was found ; 

 And ten miles from Oxford, where Arthur the King 

 Caus'd the fountain of learning to flourish and spring. 



No man describes a run better than Nimrod — take 

 his own words for the rest — 



The most remarkable part of this story, (he says,) is 

 yet to come. There were about 150 persons present when 

 the fox was found, and among them a sprinkling of Mel to - 

 nians. Every man got a fair start, but strange to say, 

 Mr. John Lucy was the only man who went with the 

 hounds to the end, and was up when they lost their fox. 

 Lord MoLiNEUx, on Oxford, and Mr. Hugo Campbell, 

 came up in about ten minutes after the hounds had lost 

 their fox in Ditchley Park. The late Sir Charles Mor- 

 DAUNT, on a horse he had just given 450 guineas for, to 

 Mr. Manning, went well to Eathorpe, where he came to a 

 stand-still, and died the next day. Not one of Lord Mid- 

 dleton's men, capitally mounted as they generally were, 

 could ever get within reach of their hounds, which were left 

 in the Duke of Beaufort's kennel for the night. 



I was riding a horse a friend had lent mc, with a 

 particular reqiicst that I would sec what he was made of ; 

 and he could not have been put to a better test. The 



