■58 BUNTING AND SPORTING NOTES. 



speculative rendezvous of a portion of the field hailing 

 Shrewsbury way. To-day, this clever division were 

 doomed to disappointment. A fox was at home at 

 Loppington that proved a good one. The country that 

 he chose was negotiable, but bristling with obstacles, 

 towards Petton in Sir Watkin's country, then circling to 

 :Slape Gorse, a-nd, continuing the wheel, leaving Wem on 

 his right, they checked near Horton. This nice gallop 

 appeared to have come to an end when up jumped the 

 hunted fox, that had been taking a brief rest, and away 

 they went again to Loppington, and over a similar line to 

 that of starting, finishing up near Loppington with a 

 pretty kill. Thus a very enjoyable run of about two 

 hours was chronicled with jumping enough for the 

 veriest glutton. In the afternoon, contrary to custom, 

 . and much to the annoyance of many, Broughton Gorse 

 was not the afternoon draw, and a long trot was taken 

 to Soulton, where a fox took them to Weston Heath to 

 ground. 



On Wednesday, attractions were divided between 

 Hinton, close to Whitchurch, with Sir Watkin, or Con- 

 dover Hall, with the Shropshire. To show the varieties 

 of our fickle climate, snowstorms at Hinton almost 

 prevented hunting, while south of the Severn all was 

 . en regie, if we set aside a drizzling rain. It carried us 

 back to days of yore, when Smith Owen was the back- 

 bone of hunting in Shropshire, to see the hounds once 

 . again gathered in front of this fine old place, and, more 

 than all, to see such a goodly company in attendance. 

 This is the first meet for the last three or four jears that 

 has taken place at Condover. Foxes now, however, are 

 once more preserved, and the new occupier, Mr. Close, 

 is to be congratulated on his sj^ortsmanlike conduct. 



Bomere having been disturbed on Wednesday, and 

 the lying in the park being cut down a good deal by the 

 weather, no fox turned up till Cantlop was reached. Here 

 there was a quick find, and as quick a scamper away 

 towards Pitchford to the Oak, but, without crossing the 

 main road, he turned left-handed to Bourton, as if for 

 Bomere ; not liking the water, however, he turned up by 

 the side of the brook, past the Green, into Condover Park, 

 where he managed to elude the hounds, probably going to 



