Dick Siinpsou^ Huntsman. 43 



Lord Southampton then hunted the Grafton 

 country in its entirety, continuing to hunt the 

 Monday and Friday country as before ; Simpson 

 hunting the Vale of Aylesbury on Wednesday, 

 the home woodlands on Thursday, and the upper 

 country, with the Yardley Chase side, on alternate 

 Saturdays. No cub-hunting was done in the new 

 district. 



The great opening day was at Creslow, by 

 invitation from Mr. Rowland, which brought 

 together the most aristocratic Field I ever saw 

 in the absence of Royalty. Many of Lord 

 Southampton's friends from Melton were there : 

 Lord Gardner, Mr. Little-Gilmour, and Mr. Coke — ■ 

 "Billy" Coke, as he was called — all fine riders, 

 Mrs. Jack Villiers, a large attendance from 

 London, about twenty Oxonians, and sportsmen 

 of all classes from miles round. A finer field of 

 horses I never saw. It was a pretty sight to 

 see the party walk along the top of the " Great 

 Ground," 365 acres, to the covert, which is not 

 large, but pretty thick, and never without foxes 

 on the opening day. 



A litter of cubs was soon on the move, one of 

 which fell a victim in a double hedge. Another 

 was found, and went away on the Whitchurch 

 side, rather downhill. We soon came to a tall 



