BILLESDON COPLOW 35 I 



SO super-eminently clever a horse as " Carlow," from his being 

 a bad hack, and careless in going, even across country, so as to 

 need a good deal of watching and holding, from having given 

 me two bad falls in the first season of my hunting him, both 

 of which hurt and incapacitated me for a time, and from his 

 being occasionally so lame without any apparent cause. At 

 present though getting a little light from his work, he is, and 

 has been ever since he has been down here, more lively, sound 

 and safe on the road than I ever recollect him to have been, 

 and carries by far the best coat of all my horses. 



We then proceeded towards the " Historical Covert " of 

 Billesdon Coplow, a gorse covert on the top of a hill with the 

 summit surmounted by high trees. A very compact, pretty and 

 modern house is built just on the south side of the Coplow, 

 belonging to and occupied by Mr. Frere, who seems to take 

 great delight in planting and improving his pretty little 

 demesne. Mr. Frere came out and invited the field generally 

 to partake of some luncheon, but being a stranger 1 did not 

 consider myself included in the invitation, and had passed the 

 door when Lord vStrathmore, on coming out of the house with 

 Mr. Frere, saw me, called me by name, and introduced me to 

 Mr. Frere. Dismounting, I went into a very nice compact 

 dinino- room commandino- a fine view, and took a o-lass of 



O O ^ «-> 



sherry and piece of cake, which on this cold clay, and from 

 having omitted to put into my pocket the usual supply of dry 

 toast, came very acceptably. I was much pleased with this 

 little mark of courtesy and affability on the part of Lord Strath- 

 more. I precipitately left the house on a servant announcing 

 that they had found, and we soon got away with a fox which 

 no doubt went to ground after running two or three fields, but 

 Day, the Huntsman, was too knowing to point out the where- 

 abouts to the foot people. 



We then returned again to the Coplow, found again 

 (probably the fox which had crossed before me just as they 

 got away with the first), and had a very pretty run of about 

 half an-hour, giving it up near Tilton ; only a small field stayed 

 to participate in this last run, which was over a very pretty line, 

 but some very stiff and frequent timber jumping, generally with 

 bad approaches, but all of which " Champagne " jumped 

 excellently without a mistake. Mr. Surtees, a regular Mel- 

 tonian, and who has a very level neat stud of ten or twelve 

 hunters, went well at the beginning of the run, leading in a 

 line which involved a good deal of timber work, in answer to 

 my enquiry as I rode back with him to Melton, whether he 



