LATCH.MORE BANKS 



109 



is as modest al^out his pt-rformancc in the [)iL;skiii as he is 

 about his shooting. He can hit his l)ir(ls in the right place, so 

 is a very welcome gun ; and he could give most gamekeepers a 

 wrinkle or two at their own game. 



Saturday, October 24th, 1885. Another wet Saturday, and another good 

 run. A fortnight had made the meets more get-at-able as regards the time, 

 as it was now 8 a.m. instead of 6.30, and a nine-mile jog to covert was no hard- 

 ship if you had accustomed yourself to it by regular attendance during the cub- 

 hunting season, which was fast waning. A nine-mile jog, however, was not 

 particularly pleasant in a pouring rain, but the unpleasantness was somewhat 

 mitigated if you were well secured in Cording's waterproofs. Retiring to roost 

 on Friday, one could hardly have anticipated requiring anything of the sort, 

 for was not the rain then coming down in bucketfuls, and had it not been 



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Latchmore Banks 



raining ever since 10 a.m. ? "No ; nothing short of twenty-four hours' 

 downfall would satisfy the clerk of the weather, and we certainly had it on 

 this occasion, for by the time we reached Hatfield Heath it was still raining. 

 This probably accounted for the exceedingly select field which had 

 assembled, composed only of Mr. and Mrs. Keppel, Mr. Howard Fowler, 

 and the hunt servants. Sir Henry was not out, and Bailey moved off sharp 

 at eight ; but en route to Wallbury Dells we were joined by that keenest of 

 keen sportsmen, Mr. C. E. Green, and three or four farmers; Mr. Kirkby 

 and Mr. Sworder were also soon on the scene. After kilhng a Wallbury 

 Dell cub, it looked like spending a morning in Takeley Forest. But there 

 was a snug little covert cii yoiite on the Bishop Stortford road, Latchmore 

 Banks by name. Bailey cheered his hounds and followed them in ; a single 

 hound gave tongue, and Bailey's " Yak ! yak ! yak ! " confirmed the trusty 



