AN EARLY WEEK. 369 



no more than I can, let me break through my ordinary rule and 

 describe my own venture — so to illustrate merely the view of 

 the chase that fell to me and my coterie. An old head upon 

 young shoulders (the old head mine, the shoulders my green 

 beginner's), we recovered ourselves at the water, and picked 

 ourselves piecemeal out of the next thorn ditch — a handsome 

 lesson that did Shoulders good service for all the rest of the 

 pilgrimage. Ah, we must have example — and where shall it 

 be found better than at the coat-tails of one who has led us in 

 many a gay dance before ? So in safety and glee, from meadow 

 to meadow, till the railway embankment of Long Buckby sud- 

 denly jumps up in view. The pack tear up to the very station, 

 and almost touch the road that leads under its bridge — then 

 swing suddenly back along the embankment side. Conceit gets 

 the better of us. We discard our pilot, dive under the bridge 

 in the good company of the Master, Lord Spencer, and Mr. 

 Adamthwaite — and bind ourselves to the probability of our fox 

 having yet made his point across the railway. Aye, we almost 

 chuckle in the thought of what a nick we shall get when they 

 turn to us. So out of the road over a small drop fence, and 

 hard as we can gallop close parallel to the railway — the red 

 coats bobbing visibly beyond the double-hedged roadway. 



Race as we may, we can gain nothing, and nothing comes to 

 us. Too self-willed to turn across at the next bridge, and take 

 up a well-earned after place, we push forward still for another 

 mile — only finally to recross the railway, with a clear loss of 

 three fields. Now they are running their hardest towards 

 Brington Village, and hard as ever they bend up wind and 

 point for Brington Clump — the bend serving us a little, but 

 the gleaming pack urging on a full field and a half ahead, with 

 Capt. Middleton's grey conspicuous and close on their left rear, 

 Mr. Wroughton and his bay in equally good position on their 

 right, while a dozen men in pink and black are in a cluster at 

 the heels of these. Meanwhile a lady is down at some blind 

 ditched timber ; and next minute a horse is seen to fall prone 

 as he nears another little brook, then to rise and real*, and now 



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