RUTH POUNDS THE FIELD 



177 



to have taken my own place ; " and so Lindsay Gordon says, " Let every 

 man pick his own panel," and if you follow another you must allow him 

 to get over the fence in his own way, nor rush it till he is clear. Shortly 

 after, in attempting another bank into a road, which no one else would 

 look at, Mrs. Grossman's black came down. Ghanging at a gorse covert, 

 we ran back at a great pace to Ghurch Wood, and had to circle it at the 

 gallop as hounds went away, which afforded me the opportunity of forgiving 

 "Jenkins" for dropping his hind legs in the morning at a certain fence on 

 the right of the covert, which, in the afternoon journey, brought Mr. 

 Ghristy and Mr. J. T. White down at the same time. 



7^/,':;,. 



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-^iiP" 







Kelvedon Hall 



At 3.30 Bailey might have been seen exploring an empty house in 

 search of his fox. Six different opinions might have been learnt at the 

 same time and place as to his exact whereabouts, and if by then you hadn't 

 developed a thirst which only a whisky and soda, or a beaker of sparkhng 

 (I nearly said lager) would adequately quench, you must have been made 

 of more ethereal matter than the three mortals who, at Mr. Miles', of 

 Beacon Hill, stayed to quaff the sparkling nectar. 



Mr. Howard, who lives at Matching Hall, and commenced 

 hunting with the Essex Hounds in 1877, farms a large number 

 of acres in the very centre of our best fox preserves. Until 

 deprived of the use of one of his arms through a gun accident 

 in 1893, he was known as one of the best horsemen (in the 

 way of riding any sort of horse) in our country, for he had 

 splendid hands, and being able to make a horse take off at the 

 right place, rarely came down. He gets across country now in 



12 



VOL. II 



