Before the Frost, 131 



we ran her for a quarter of an hour and killed her. 

 Suddenly, as is often the case in this part of the 

 world, the clouds parted, the sun shone, and the face 

 of the country became entirely changed. A second 

 hare was quickly found, and gave us a rattler over 

 the heather, being finally killed in a turnip-field after 

 a capital run of an hour. The '' Quarm " have the 

 reputation of being a very crack pack, and this 

 clinking good run, the pace being tremendously fast 

 throughout, fully satisfied me that they deserved the 

 high character I had heard of them. 



I was invited to attend the meet of the Tiverton 

 Foxhounds at Holcombe Court, the residence of Mr. 

 Rayer, the master, and I availed myself of the op- 

 portunity of seeing the pack, and also this beautiful 

 old baronial hall. Vainly have I searched " Camden ," 

 and other historical authorities, for particulars of this 

 ancient place. Its claim to antiquity may, however, 

 be judged from the fact of the oak-panelled room 

 into which I was ushered, having been the apartment 

 in which, in very far-off times, King John had been 

 entertained. A splendid breakfast was laid in the 

 dining-room, which Avas entirely panelled with carved 

 oak ; and the guests — the gentlemen in their scarlet 

 coats, and ladies in blue or grey habits — enlivened 

 the scene with their presence. On the lawn, the 

 hounds were paraded, and a large concourse of 

 visitors assembled. A fox was quickly found in a 

 plantation near the house, which gave us a short 

 run, after which many of the visitors returned to 

 luncheon, and subsequently examined the wonders 

 of this beautiful place. 



An invitation being received from Mr. J. Froudo 



