U HUNTING AND SPORTING NOTES. 



Great Western Eailway at Baschurcli. Here Sir Watkin^ 

 personally superintending his pack from his brougham, 

 gave orders for the day's fun to commence. Stanwardine 

 Gorse was the first place of call, and no sooner were the 

 hounds thrown in than there was a crash of music that 

 rattled round the covert for nearly a quarter of an hour 

 before the fox found the exigency of the situation 

 necessitated a speedy departure. That done, there was 

 a desperate stampede over the watery country towards 

 Ellesmere, that gave men, horses, and hounds plenty of 

 employment until the White Mere was skirted, and 

 Otele}^ appeared to be the intended haven, but, turning 

 back, he managed to evade his pursuers near Welshamp- 

 ton, after a very enjoyable run. Back towards Baschurch 

 was again the order, where Sir Watkin had in the 

 meantime had certain intelligence of a fox in a drain, 

 just opposite a public-house, so that thirsty sportsmen 

 took a chain at the barrel, while a terrier tried the foxey 

 drain. The latter poured forth quickly a double potion in 

 a brace of foxes, and amid dire confusion, Goodall and 

 his pack chased one of them pell-mell to Petton, where 

 he unaccountably made himself scarce in the shrubberies. 

 Foiled here, some neighbouring coverts near the railway 

 towards Marton were tried, and what proved to be a 

 gallant fox was found. After making a feint on one side 

 to break, he eventually got away to the east, thereby 

 giving many of the field a bad start. Petton seemed to 

 be his point, skirting which, he went straight to Broughton 

 Gorse, over a very severe line — black, boggy ditches 

 predominating — and great was the grief, and much the 

 fun, of the chaseo One gallant young sportsman, whose 

 name betokens a fondness for water, charged boldly at 18 

 feet of water, and, his horse not being similarly minded, 

 the rider indulged in a solitary header. Goodall showed 

 himself a fine horseman by getting clear over. The way 

 in which certain wide boggy ditches were perambulated 

 to find a sound take-off was charming, hounds all the 

 time running merrily past Broughton, and then, describing 

 a circle back by Snape Gorse, nearly to Wem, and by 

 Petton to Broughton again, where Goodall was fain to 

 leave him, being in the Shropshire country. x\ll had had 

 enough — one hour and twenty minutes. Undoubtedly 

 the best day of the season so far. 



I nearly forgot to say that the Shropshire never smelt 



