HUNTING RECOLLECTIONS. 113 



west of the village, " the lively ladies " tickled 

 on, a check of two or three minutes on some 

 greasy fallows giving him a little respite. Clear 

 of these, away they went again. Cream Gorse, a 

 field on the left ; an upraised hat in the clear 

 distance told his course ; but his " merciless pur- 

 suers " needed not that signal. On, on they 

 raced till Bowers Giffard was reached. Into the 

 road he turned, too beat to leave it; running 

 from scent to view, the darling ladies rolled him 

 over within one yard of Bowers churchyard. 

 Ten miles from point to point, fourteen as they 

 ran, one hour twenty-six minutes. 



To the astonishment of a well satisfied field 

 (some nags were more than satisfied) the " in- 

 satiable " Squire said he would draw again, and 

 he did too. Found instantly in Nevendon 

 Bushes, came away due east, and ran a 

 " burster," about six only with the hounds, 

 nearly to Bowers Church, into the marshes, and 

 up to Vange Creek ; but the tide being in and 

 water very salt, could make nothing of our fox, 

 and gave it up very willingly. Twenty-five 

 minutes, a " tickler." 



Mr. Scratton was succeeded by Mr. John 

 Offin, the half brother of Mr. Tom Offin, to 

 whom I owe the accounts of so many of the 

 runs in which he took such an honourable 

 position, and which appear in the first volume. 

 He lived at Hutton Hall and kept the hounds 

 from 1869 till Captain White took them in 1873. 

 Bentley was his huntsman and Joe Bailey first 

 whip. I was away at school most of the time, 



