148 Frank Beers' Diaries. [1875-76 



pointing for Greatworth ; up to this point a great many 

 had come to grief, I (Frank Beers) for one. My horse 

 tumbled over a gate before we reached Cockley Brake, 

 he never rose at it a bit (a new Lincolnshire horse), but 

 I escaped with nothing more than a dirty coat. From 

 Greatworth they raced along between the two Halse 

 coppices, straight over the bottom up to Whistley 

 Wood, dowm to the bottom corner, back again to the 

 Falcote corner of Whistley Wood, and killed him. 

 About fifty-five minutes — fifty minutes in the open, and 

 a little over five more minutes in Whistley. This has 

 been a capital run, and I never saw so many dirty coats 

 in one day. My horse was quite done at Halse Coppice, 

 but I fortunately got on Tom Smith's, first whip's ; he 

 carried me capitally up to the finish. (Egmont the 

 restive horse.) The Empress rode most capitally, and 

 Mrs. Grosvenor rode remarkably well. I presented the 

 brush to the Empress and the head to Mrs. Grosvenor. 



'' We then drew Allithorn and found, but as I rode 

 into the covert an old bitch, Sprightly, was standing 

 pointing at something in the dried grass. I rode to her, 

 and saw she had before her nose five beautiful cubs, so- 

 I got the hounds off the line of the mother, and left 

 the covert as soon as possible. Found in Colonel 

 Hutchinson's covert, ran to Allithorn, so stopped the 

 hounds. 



''The last day the Empress hunted this season. Her 

 Majesty made me a present of a very brilliant and 

 handsome pin with twenty-five diamonds surrounding 

 a beautiful sapphire. She also gave to each of my 

 children a lot of beautiful toys, and came to tea with my 

 wife, presented each child the toys herself, and shook 

 hands with each. The Ex-Queen and King of Naples 

 came with Her Majesty, and had some tea also. 



