I 20 LEAVES FROM A HUNTING DIARY 



current up the middle ride, down which the huntsman and his 

 numerous followers had dashed. 



Scarcely had we reached the end of the ride before another 

 " Halloa," this time far away near Toot Hill, could be heard, 

 and the sight of a few red-coats, already coming away from the 

 wood, warned us that there was not a moment to be lost. Not 

 staying to listen to the voice of the charmer, charm he never 

 so wisely, up hill and down dale, on the hard resounding road, 

 we raced for the point where the huntsman, with vigorous 

 notes on his horn, was drawing his hounds together from the 

 covert, while the Master held the eao-er crowd in check which, 

 the moment he released his hold, burst like a torrent, and 

 swept over the road in hot pursuit, as the hounds struck the 

 line on the good scenting ground that spreads away from Ongar 

 Park to Knightsland, Shalesmore, and Beachetts. 



Each man for himself and the hounds for us all, was the 

 cry, as bearing at first to the right men took their fences at 

 the gallop, and in less than a minute they were racing for the 

 brook at the bottom of these meadows. Mr. Green was in 

 luck, hitting off the same place where he and Major Wilson on 

 his grey left us all behind in the fog last year, and was followed 

 over that 10 ft. plank by Mr. Newman Gilbey on his new 

 purchase, the good black. On the right of these, for a place 

 he liked better, Mr. Gerald Buxton mia^ht have been seen 

 fanning along with a large following, while coasting down 

 it in blank despair rode a crowd who were lucky if they extri- 

 cated themselves in time to Q-et through the ford and hand eate 

 on the left before all the fun was over ; while without knowino- 

 of Its existence Mr. Edwards, Mrs. Carter, Mr. John Tyndale 

 White, Mr. Cockett, Mr, Ford Barclay, and one or two more, 

 struck it without drawing rein. Hounds still favoured those on 

 the left, for they swung right across them under Northlands, 

 and raced hard for Knightsland. In and out of the briery 

 lane with Messrs. Edwards and Barclay at the double, over 

 the half-concealed ditches — the next drop fence in your stride, 

 and in and out of the corner of Knightsland, or a swish through 

 the bullfinch after Mr. White's reel-ribboned grey, would have 

 landed you in time to see hounds at their first check, and 

 without their huntsman. The fox, a crood one, had orone on, 

 and with forces somewhat augmented, Mr. Tyndale White 

 on his roan swung open the gate into the road below Knights- 

 land, as the line led on over some terribly heavy ploughed land. 

 Just time to catch sight of Mr. Seymour Caldwell jumping 

 a wide ditch into a narrow grass meadow, and to hear the 



