Before the Frost, 113 



adjacent cover. " Halloa in there ! Yoi ! have at 

 him there ! " and this quick and clever huntsman 

 was soon on the line of a fox, whilst a view-halloo 

 goon proclaimed that he had gone away. 



Letting Grey Friar have his head, I found it would 

 be my fault if I did not live close to the hounds, and 

 after a pleasant gallop of fifteen or twenty minutes, 

 the hounds came to a check in a patch of bracken in 

 the park. A halloo back was heard, and the hounds 

 were lifted and laid on to what I believe was a fresh 

 fox, which gave us a spin of fifteen minutes, when 

 we ran him into a stiff cover, which he was unwilling 

 to quit, but George Bollen soon made the place too 

 hot to hold him, and we ran him back into a cover, 

 where we lost him, the scent being bad throughout 

 the day. After this we drew for some little while, 

 finding another fox, without being able to do any 

 good with him, and the hounds, which had some 

 distance to go to their kennels, were taken home. 

 Then a pleasant ride with Sir W. Hart Dyke through 

 the old park brought me back to the castle, where, 

 after partaking of further hospitality at the hands of 

 the very popular and courteous owner of this beauti- 

 ful residence, for centuries the home of the Harts and 

 Dykes — a fit dwelling for an English country gentle- 

 man — I took my leave, and trotted back by starlight 

 to Eynesford. 



On the following Thursday, the meet of the West 

 Kent was at Eridge Castle, and having been invited 

 by the Marquis of Abergavenny to be present on the 

 occasion, and being promised another equally good 

 mount, I drove from Tunbridge Wells over Broad- 

 water Down, and entered the lovely domain of 



H 



