A GREAT RUN FROM CANES 437 



At the river, besides the three already mentioned, came 

 up Frederick Petre, F. Barker, G. SulHns, Glyn, Harrison, 

 Patmore and Albert Petre, and gently descending the last 

 slope was discovered Heatley on his grey. The others had 

 had enough at Rettendon. Captain Pearson went well on a 

 stout clever brown horse, which he had bought of Alfred 

 Sturgeon. 



March 22nd, i860. A good day with Arkwright at last, 

 and yet the opening was most inauspicious, cold and stormy 

 day, with hail storms. Drew the large covert of Ongar Park 

 Woods, 365 acres, and though plenty of foxes afoot, no skill 

 or cleverness could do any good with them. We got away 

 with one at last, but the huntsman (Tom) could not ride a 

 beast of a horse he was on, and so we lost live minutes at one 

 fence, and of course soon after lost our fox. 



The weather improved for an hour or two, and we went on 

 by Tylers Green towards Canes Wood. But George Hart, 

 Stallibrass, Cassidy, with myself and two or three others, 

 went a short cut by the fields, and when near to the little 

 covert which hounds were drawing, Hart sang out, " Tally-ho." 

 We looked and pulled up, but saw nothing ; however, he 

 repeated the cry, and others joined, and soon brought the 

 hounds streaming towards us, and when only about thirty 

 yards off he rode forward and whipped up the fox from a little 

 hollow in the stubble field. The hounds got a view and away 

 we streamed. The first fence was a big and awkward one, 

 but my good little filly " Exmoor " did it capitally. Soon after 

 the start, Hart and I made a wrong turn, which we saw too 

 late, when we found a plantation and brook between us and 

 the hounds. 



There was no help for it but to have the brook, which 

 "Exmoor" did capitally. Frederick Petre afterwards fell 

 backwards with his clever chestnut mare at this spot. Then 

 I had to push my four-year old filly to catch the hounds. 

 Fencing excellently with the exception that, when the edge 

 of the ditch gave way, we rolled together into the next field. 

 " Exmoor " was up first, but a sharp run of twenty yards enabled 

 me to catch her. I was soon up with hounds, and we ran 

 prettily by Moreton and thence to Blake Hall, past the front 

 of the house over the Ha-Ha, which " Exmoor" made nothing 

 of, across the Ongar Road and on by Greensted, over a stiff 

 line of country pointing for Stanford Rivers. 



In this part of the run I came foul of the Rev. Master. 

 I was in the act of balancing my " young 'un " on a narrow 



