Last Day at Battlefield, . lO^ 



Hower garden, tlireadiiig the village and back over the 

 railway, as if Preston Giil:)bald was his point, but in truth 

 the brute had no such good intention, for he wriggled 

 about opposite Hadnal village, and eventually found 

 another drain under the railway, where we gladly left him, 

 opinions differing about his sex. As a rule a Shropshire 

 field is anxious to avoid doing damage at this time of 

 year, and Borderer regrets to have to record a case to-day 

 of wilfully riding over a wheat field without any necessity. 

 The crop was a forward one, and had been rolled — the 

 transgressor was appealed to by a leading member of the 

 hunt, but he persisted in crossing the whole of it without 

 the slightest necessity. I shall take a leaf out of 

 Mr. Speaker's book, therefore, and name him — a Mr. 

 Steadman, hailing, I believe, from Shrev^sbury. Another 

 fast sportsman jumped into a field right in front of the 

 hounds, but this, I believe was accidental, and his 

 punishment came swiftly, as the whole field saw it, and 

 made their comments accordingly. A second fox was not 

 set on his legs through Battlefield woods till we came to 

 the keeper's plantations at the back of Sundorne, where a 

 nice-looking fox trotted gaily away by the Abbey, and 

 into Haughmond Hill, swinging to the left for Holly 

 Coppice. Here, however, the clever division had already 

 clattered down the road in front of him, causing us a 

 check, and deciding our fox to alter his route, straight 

 back, the way we had come, except that he crossed below 

 the Abbey, and then broke out of the line of plantations 

 by a farm, of which I forget the name, straight on to the 

 Shawbury road, where the hounds threw up, and declined 

 to own a line forward. Our fox had probably gone right- 

 handed for Shawbury Heath. Thatcher tried widely to 

 the left with no result. Pointon Springs was our third 

 successful venture for the day, and at once gave hope of 

 a gallop with the same fox that has certainly some 

 straight- going propensities. This afternoon he went 

 away in good style on his old line, but alas ! the Sundorne 

 keeper had placed himself at the end of the second covert, 

 and headed him. Thus confusion was created, and his 

 means of departure Shawbury way was barred by gallop- 

 ing sportsmen. There was nothing for it but to turn 

 back towards Sundorne, and get up the semblance of 

 excitement, to the covert on the top of the hill, where I 

 think he went to crround. A line was shown towards 



