THE LAST DAY OF THE SEASON 1 899- 1 9OO 309 



I took the trouble to count them as they trooped past me in the road below 

 Mr. Buxton's wood, and the hundred inchided several very pretty little 

 girls, two of Mr. Wahab's in brown covert coats with velvet caps to match ; 

 Miss Lucy Green and Mrs. Bennett's little girl, in red Tarn o'Shanters, 

 neither of them in their teens, but all the same looking very much at home 

 on their ponies ; Miss Melles, with her father, about his first visit to the 

 hunting field this season. Mr. W. H. Baddelely and his little girl. Mrs. 

 Gerald Buxton was driving, Mr. Avila was also on wheels, driving the 

 animal that had put him down in Wednesday's run, when he sprained both 

 his wrists. Mr. F. Green, jun., was on a hireling of Rett's. A few others 

 whose names I recall I will add, with apologies to the many whose names 

 I have omitted : Mr. E. S. Bowlby, Mr. Arthur Bowlby, Mr, and Mrs. 

 Arkwright, Mr. C. E. Green, Mr. R. Y. Bevan, Sir Evelyn Wood, V.C, 

 Mr. A. R. Steele, Mr. and Mrs. W. Sewell, Mr., Mrs. and Miss Waters, 

 Mr. Young, Mr. Lane Fox, Mr. G. H. Lee, Mr. H. Sworder. Mr. and 

 Mrs. R. F. Ball, Mr. F. Green, Miss M. Green, Mr. H. J. Miller, Mr. H. 

 Sworder ; Miss T. Buxton, just back from Florence ; Mr. G. Buxton, Mr. 

 Whitehead, Mr. J. G. Felly, Miss Felly, Mr. W. Sims-Horner (on wheels), 

 Mr. Ralph Bury, Mr. Rickett, Mr. Seal, Mr. Freeman, Mr. Fardeli, Mr. 

 D. Cunliffe-Smith, Mr. Capel-Cure, Mr. L. Savill, Miss Savill, Capt. 

 Wood, Mr. E. Lobb, Mr. and Mrs. Grossman. None of them so lucky as 

 Mr. A. Giles, Mr. Howard and Mr. Todhunter, who, taking time by the 

 forelock and making sure of a gallop, went out with stag hounds before 

 joining the fox hunters at 4 p.m., for they arrived in time to see us find 

 our first fox in Harlow Park, and avoided the long weary draw through 

 endless coverts. A dead vixen could hardly be called a find ; though the 

 catastrophe of finding one dead in a trap in his wood, the Beachetts, evoked 

 the sympathy of one and all with Mr, G. Buxton, for the vixen had cubs. 

 Gaynes Park, Rough Talleys, coverts that have stood the hunt in good 

 stead this season, failed this day, and General Sir Evelyn Wood had had 

 to bid an adieu to the chase before we found at Harlow Park. A fine grey 

 fox, not the red-brown customer we found on Wednesday, crossed the road 

 for Latton, and going out at the bottom end of Rundell's Grove at starting 

 took the same line as Wednesday's fox, and many began to think that they 

 were in for a repetition of Wednesday's sport. But it was evident before 

 we had crossed the first field that there was not the same scent. Two 

 days of an easterly wind had dried the ground and hounds could not run 

 a yard, but Bailey managed to work out a line to and through Parndon 

 W^oods, and a few fields beyond, before going to look for a fresh one in 

 Nasing Coppice. The certainty of a find in Galley Hills induced a good 

 many to stay on, although it was quite 5.30 before they got there, and they 

 were rewarded with a very nice gallop on the grass up to the Forest, losing 

 their fox quite near to the scene of the morning's meet. This was the third 

 time this week hounds had paid a visit to Galley Hills. 



None enjoyed this gallop more than Mr. Whitehead ; in spite of his 

 eighteen stone his mare carried him right through the run as well as she 

 had carried him on the previous Wednesday, and catching the 7 o'clock 

 train for town, he went home in the best of spirits, in spite of regrets that 

 the season was over with our hounds — a season which, in spite of a paucity 

 of foxes in many parts of the country (partly accounted for on the score of 

 mange) has on the whole been a very good one, marked by many stirring 

 runs, though, had it not been for Mr. Green's keenness to stay out while 

 daylight lasted, many of the best gallops would never have come off. If 

 Essex men never get a worse season than 1899-1900, they will never have 

 any cause to grumble. 



