86 



LEAVES FROM A HUNTING DIARY 



to have witnessed, for a good fox was broken up, and mask and brush were 

 eagerly claimed. Great was the thirst of those who had ridden through 

 this fifty minutes' burst from Thoby Woods, but, great as it was, the soda 

 held out, and it was your own fault if you took your whisky neat. Mrs. 

 Darby and Dr. Baker were most kind and attentive to every one. No one 

 saw more of this run, nor saw it better, than the late secretary* of the Essex 

 Union. It was a pleasure to have him with us again, and a treat to see 

 him riding in his old form, with an eye on the leading hound — not he my 

 informant, but our own Secretary, that the Union dogs had travelled a 

 leetle too fast on the previous Saturday for some of our men who went to 

 seek fresh fields and pastures new. Was the ground heavy ? No, sir ; it 

 was a quagmire. With stag on same day the mud flew up like snow as 

 horses galloped ; the deep going finding the bottom of most horses, and in 

 the case of the Master, two. 



Edward T. Mashiter on his mare " Rylstone " 



"Rylstone" bought at Mr. Ashton's (late M.F.H. Essex 

 Union) sale at Tatts' in '96, is a rare stamp of a weight carrier for 



Mr. E. T. Helme (Mashiter). 



