THE GREAT FOREST HALL RUN, DEC. 28tH, 1 895 



17 



thing with fox or staghounds with any native-bred sportsman, 

 and is hard as nuts, if indifference to falls counts for anything. 

 Not that he gets many, for " Peggy," from the time he pur- 

 chased her at my recommendation in 1891 from Mr. Custance, 

 of Greensted, as a three-year-old, took to hunting as naturally 

 as most of the stock of Sir Walter Gilbey's famous horse 

 "Pedometer" have done. Mr. Dunlop has been a very 

 useful friend to fox-huntino- at Norton Hall. 



;;?'>'^''-'— ' 





./^^-r- 





The Osiers, Forest Hall 



" Keep a bit up your sleeve," said my friend Smith, " they are going 

 into their best country in the afternoon after their best fox ; " and he 

 chortled greatly when he remarked that he had reserved the priceless " Pen " 

 for the afternoon, with strict injunctions to his Peter Leather " To feed 

 her carefully and then drop her down from the clouds at a certain covert." 

 " My dear boy ! Why ! !— (I never swear)— why didn't you tell me sooner ? 

 Here I am riding " Bellerophon," and that brute of a mare is bemg 

 reserved for the afternoon. Well, it is too late now. Just send a message 

 by your man to mine to drop my mare down at the same place, and, by all 

 that's uncharitable, may we get a good run in the morning ! " 



Into the osiers by the slippery bridge, over the river— not at home— 

 and up the drive towards Witney Wood. Mr. Dunlop, the sporting, hard- 

 working farmer, of Norton Hall, appeared on the scene with the information 

 that just two hours previously a big fox had been viewed into a small 

 spinney in the park. 



With Mr. Green's instructions to the huntsman to keep his horn gomg, 



VOL. II 



