260 FOX-HUNTING TYPES 



It was a curious experience, which became very 

 interesting and sometimes keenly exciting, when, 

 after seeing hounds and horsemen disappear in full 

 cry, we would peg along at a rattling pace, twisting 

 round corners and suddenly halting. " Can you hear 

 them now ? " or " There they go ! " as the whole chase 

 would burst into view. We saw the end of a very 

 fine hunt in South Kildare, or, rather, the last few 

 moments in the open, from a road at Davidstown 

 which we had reached in time to view the fox across. 

 He w^as staggering along, looking very high on the 

 leg as I pulled out my watch. We could not hear a 

 sound for two long minutes. At last it came to us, 

 but, beat though the fox appeared to be, he was three 

 minutes in front of the disreputable-looking objects 

 that then swarmed up on to the road. Most of them 

 seemed to be of a uniform drab colour, so covered 

 with mud and travel-stain were they, and a half- 

 smothered, angry growl accompanied them as they 

 crossed the road, to break into an honest, cheery cry 

 when they reached the field beyond. It was another 

 minute before two or three horsemen struggled into 

 the flat, holding field, but before they reached the 

 road fence Goodall and one or two more, who had 

 kept their heads about them and knew the locality, 

 came clattering along the road, having avoided the 

 boggy field but never lost sight of hounds all the 

 way from Devie's Furze. The fox was well up on 

 Corbally Hill by this time, so Goodall's face hardly 

 betrayed contentment, nor did that of one of the 

 advancing horsemen in the fields when his horse fell 

 back in attempting to jump up on to the road. The 



