378 LEAVES FROM A HUNTING DIARY 



out of the four were down with their horses' hoofs uppermost 

 and pinks prostrate ; the other two seemed rather in difficulty, 

 as if from sympathy with their companions. Though I have, 

 of course, seen many a man and horse down in the hunting- 

 field, I don't think I was ever so much struck with the resem- 

 blance to the pictures of hunting disasters as on the present 

 occasion — I suppose from having been watching them going- 

 well and their misadventure coming so suddenly, and seeing 

 four horses just before me go at a fence and two only get over 

 and the other two left behind. The unfortunate two were 

 Blomfield and Kortwright, the former hurt his side from having 

 an awkward square-cornered flask in his pocket, and the mare of 

 the latter got away from him. Avoiding the debi-is by jumping 

 the fence a little to the left of them, I speedily passed the two 

 survivors and then caught the leading hounds in company with 

 F. Barker and S. Reeve, until at a slight check in the road 

 Helme joined us. 



Hitting it off again directly, it was now my turn to lead with 

 F. Barker and S. Reeve in attendance and in this order we 

 went until the former fearing, not without reason, that he might 

 be giving the young ones too much of a dose, cried out that he 

 must now leave it to the old ones. Having come in this 

 manner over the cream of our country by Good Easter, High 

 Easter, Lord's Wood, High Roothing, to the meadows below 

 the latter place, and Great Canfield, in fifty minutes from the 

 start, but only about thirty or forty going as hard as we could 

 lick and being reduced to one hound, we whipped off to let the 

 rest of the pack up. Well up at this point were S. Reeve and 

 Barker, Helme, Captain Tower, Blomfield, Petre, Dan the 

 whip, Coope, and W. Barker, and afterwards seen dropping in, 

 Joe Reeve, the Christy's, Barlow on his clever dun pony, Willis, 

 and some others. A general enquiry was made for James 

 Barker, who had started on a fine bay horse, but he was missing, 

 as was his groom. 



After tolerable time the hounds were laid on by the side of 

 the brook and came up to where the hind had taken refuge and 

 many thought they were going to take her and did not seem 

 sorry, having had enough ; but from the style in which she 

 jumped out, I exclaimed that we should not take her for an hour, 

 and so it proved, for after dodging about the brook some time 

 and distance, which gave the horses every chance, she finally left 

 it and went away in view, not a field before the hounds, as 

 straight as a line and as hard as we could lick, by Canfield 

 Mount and so on to Little Canfield Hall and towards Lord 



