118 Iktngs ot tbe tuxntim^ficl^ 



landing herself. His whipper-in, Ned Evans, however, 

 who had crossed by the boat, fortunately came to his 

 assistance and pulled him up the bank, leaving the mare 

 in the water. Nor does the story end here. Jumping 

 on the whip's horse, Mytton got to his hounds, and the 

 mare was eventually brought ashore without much 

 injury.' 



But even that feat was eclipsed by the following, which 

 ' Nimrod ' thus describes : — 



' Perhaps Mytton never made himself much more 

 conspicuous in the field than he did upon what, a few 

 years back, was well known in the hunting circles 

 of Cheshire, Shropshire, and Staffordshire, as " The 

 Shavington Day." This . was the day on which a trial 

 of speed, nose, and bottom was to be made between the 

 hounds of Sir Henry Mainwaring, of Peover Hall, 

 Cheshire, commonly called " the Cheshire hounds," hunted 

 by Will Head, afterwards huntsman to the Marquis of 

 Hastings ; those kept jointly by Sir Edward Smythe of 

 Acton Burmal Park, Mr Smythe Owen of Condover Hall, 

 and Mr Lloyd of Aston Hall, each in the county of 

 Salop (late Sir Bellingham Graham's) commonly called 

 " the Shropshire hounds ; " and those of Mr Wicksted, 

 whose kennel is at Betley, near Newcastle-under-Lyne, 

 from which they hunt what is called " the Woore country," 

 once hunted by the late Sir Thomas Mostyn, previous 

 to his taking Oxfordshire, and likewise a part of Shrop- 

 shire, hunted by Charles Wells, formerly huntsman to 

 the Oakley. The interest taken for many surrounding 

 miles in this extraordinary, and, I believe I may add, 

 unique undertaking, was immense ; and it was supposed 

 that independently of the contents of carriages, there 

 were considerably more than a thousand horsemen 



