82 HUNTING AND SPORTING NOTES. 



near Stamford Bridge, then the Nantwich road, leaving 

 Aston village on the left, over the same brook again, and 

 on into the park ; close by Wrenbmy Hall leaving the 

 hall to the right, he pointed in the direction of Chol- 

 mondelev, but the pace having been a cracker, our fox 

 was shortly pulled down by Mr Ward's, at Sproston Wood. 

 From find to finish was about twenty minutes, and I can 

 only say this, that if hounds had kept on going at the 

 same pace, few would have been able to stick to them 

 much longer. 



Who can say Mr. Corbet does not try to give his sup- 

 porters plenty for their money, for, to the surprise of 

 almost everyone, he said he would draw Court's Gorse, so 

 to Court's Grorse we went, and a verv obliging fox broke 

 away on the Combermere side, the hounds were soon on 

 the line, and ran their fox into Combermere Big Wood ; 

 running through the wood, he broke away on the Osmere 

 side, but turning to the right, the hounds either ran our 

 hunted fox or a fresh one back into the Big Wood, where 

 they killed him, 



Wednesday and Friday in last week at Atcham 

 Bridge and Acton Eeynald gave us the two prettiest 

 meets in the year, and as both days were sunny and 

 bright, there was, on each occasion, a large concourse. 



At Atcham we dawdled about for nearly three-quarters 

 of an hour, determined that a contingent of hard-riding 

 sportsmen coming by train from the north should not miss 

 the run which Lord Berwick was sure to afford us. 

 At last they arrived, and mnltd comitantc caterva, we 

 proceeded to draw round Attingham. 



The withies near the Hall held a nice fox, which, break- 

 ing covert, ran up the right side of the river with the 

 hounds but a few yards behind. Few of us expected him 

 to escape a sudden and inglorious death, for behind were 

 the hounds, and all around him were members of the 

 aforementioned caterva (alas ! that Atcham is so near 

 Shrewsbury) who literally " volleyed and thundered " at 

 poor Eeynard. 



I saw one hound snap at him and miss him by a narrow 

 four inches, but with a bound Reynard was in the withy 

 bed, where he must have let the hounds run clean over 

 him before he started again on an easterly track through 

 the woods, and crossed the road straight for Wroxeter. 



We followed, tamely trotting after hounds along the 

 road, but buoyed up by the hope that he meant turning 

 for the Wrekin. 



