FOX-HUNTING. 429 



our heads, hats, and eyes being beaten and battered to a con- 

 fusing tune. Soon we issued on to a good grass ride — to find 

 that two ladies and three or four men had already forced their 

 way through the foliage, and were galloping in view of hounds 

 whose tongues were our only link. Rides diverged and hounds 

 shifted their course. Now one section of the party rode by 

 sight, and now by hearing ; then another took up the running 

 among the open timber. Now 



They came to where the brushwood ceased, and day 

 Peered twixt the stems ; and the ground broke away 

 In a sloped sward down to a brawling brook. 



It was an honest little streamlet, though, and boded no harm 

 with bog or swamp ; so the gallopers rode onward with the 

 pack through holly shrub and gorse — darting round the bushes 

 with all their energy, lest hounds should slip them and their 

 start be lost. Now they were in covert again (in Broomy 

 Inclosure) and through the clear woodland they went a tre- 

 mendous pace — among the nearest to hounds being a young- 

 lady on a strong black horse, taking for her beacon, probably, 

 one of Lyndhurst's quickest riders (Mr. Powell), also on a 

 striding black (and who seemed to me at all times to leave as 

 little unnecessary daylight as possible between himself and 

 hounds running). Coming forth again, they were once more in 

 the open ; and with a much-increased attendance went into 

 Milkham Inclosure, took a turn within it, and came back to 

 Broomy. Hard as ever they ran till they reached the main 

 earths — twenty-five minutes, as fast as hounds often go. 



A second fox went to ground quickly. But a third, found in 

 the open beyond Ashley Lodge, gave half an hour's good sport 

 before he, too, went under the heather. The last ten minutes, 

 after leaving Amberwood with No. 3, were across rough open 

 ground — a merry scramble among bushes and bogs. No one 

 was stuck ; but horses pulled up pretty thoroughly blown. 



So ended two days of bright wild foxhunting. On both days 

 were hounds quickly and cleverly handled. What surprised me 



