Mark Hall 



CHAPTER VI, 



Marh HaU—Loftus J. W . Avhwright—A Red Letter Day— Diana— The Polo 

 Pony succumbs — Harry Bagot — Vulpecide — A Premature Request — The Last 

 Day in the Roothings — Newman Sparroiv — The Hart, The Mount and The 

 Thrift — How Henry John got Home— Bye Days — The Prince of Wales at 

 Easton Ledge — A Blank Day — The Royals — Henry Vigne — Wm. Hurrell — 

 The Reptonian — Crawley s Advice — Roiv Wood — A Clinker from Forest 

 Hall — A Hard Day— Mr. Sevan's Horse Dies — The Celery Hare— Mr. 

 Vigne has the best run of Jialf -a -century — Quite Quiet — Engulfed — Merry- 

 legs — The Run of the Season — Harlow Park — Lieut. -Col. the Hon. W. H. 

 Allsopp. 



T OFTUS JOSEPH WIGRAM ARKWRIGHT assisted 

 i_y his father by acting' as Field-master in 1888-89; ^.nd in 

 1 893, to the satisfaction of all who wished to see the historical 

 family of Arkwright at the head of the Essex Hunt, became joint 

 Master, with Mr. E. S. Bowlby, of the Essex Hounds, which 

 position he held to the end of the season 1898-99, not for his 

 own gratification, but to please his Essex friends, for he often 

 remarked that he did not care about the office. With all the 

 worries and anxieties attached to a Mastership of Hounds in 

 the present day, this statement can hardly cause any surprise, 

 especially as Mr. Arkwright made no secret of the fact that in 

 the year 1897 he preferred shooting to hunting. A crack shot, 

 his coverts teem with game, but rarely indeed are they drawn 

 blank — in spite of the frequent calls upon them. He possesses a 

 rare eye to hounds and they can't go too fast for him ; probably 

 he has won more Point to Point races than an\- man in Essex. 

 It is needless to add that Mr. Arkwright was very popular in 

 the field and very easy on the forward division ; the hunt 

 staff always declared that they could not have had a better 

 master. 



