CANFIELD THRIFT CANFIKLD MOUNT — CANFIELI) MART I 73 



and a s'^ss of home-brewed after a good run, but when offered in that 

 hospitable way by a staunch sportsman, it certainly carries an additional 

 relish. 



Newman Sparrow, seventy three in the year '97, and as 

 good a friend to fox hunting as ever Hved in his years of 

 prosperity. He did not find the hearts of Essex fox-hunters 

 turn away from him when, with the savings of the greater part 

 of a Hfetime lost in the Liberator Society, he had to face, 

 through no fault of his own, the loss of the stewardship of a 

 farm which he had held for no less a period than twenty-four 

 years. 



The moment the hounds entered the Thrift a grand chorus woke its 

 echoes from end to end, and a blood-red rover, whose fur shone like gold, 

 made a dash across an open glade ; but he took a circle round before going 

 away, evidently loth to part with his comrade, who was viewed and allowed 

 to go away unmolested in an opposite direction. Everybody got a fair start 

 with this fox, but only those who kept their eye on the leading hound had any 

 chance of seeing the gallop fairly, for he twisted and turned up hedgerow 

 after hedgerow; but scent was so good that hounds could race all the time, 

 and stuck to his line like glue. Saddles emptied fast. One well-known 

 chesnut * with white face went fence for fence with hounds for five fields 

 until Jim laid hands on him ; his owner, meantime, having footed it after him, 

 was pretty well blown. Towards the end the pace quickened, and it looked 

 a certainty for a kill ; but the fox managed to find a refuge in the earths at 

 Canfield Mount at the end of a capital 35 minutes ; and a hot, steaming, 

 happy throng saw the finish of this good thing. 



Here many determined to go home, but there were further, good things 

 in store for those who stayed. About fifty reached Canfield Hart at 4 p.m. 

 Hounds had not been in covert three minutes before " forrard away" in 

 the direction of the Forest was heard. Bailey had his hounds out like 

 a shot, and they flew to the Forest, the young Squire cutting the work out 

 on his bay mare, while a stranger on a good-looking grey was lying close to 

 hounds as with a lovely chorus and ravishing scent they raced round the 

 fish pond, and over the park into a big covert. 



A tempting ride lay parallel with the line hounds were taking, and 

 down it most of us galloped ; but just as the railway was reached hounds 

 turned sharp to the right, and their music became fainter and fainter, 

 leaving a very large contingent — including Mr. Romer Williams, the stranger 

 on the grey, and several others — in the lurch. Those who grasped the 

 situation and turned back at once were lucky ; those who found out their 

 mistake a little later had to gallop all the way back to the Hart before they 

 got in touch with hounds again. 



For the second time Mr. Miller viewed the fox away, this time in the 

 direction of Harrington Hall. Hounds ran very prettily, but, fortunately, 

 not very fast, or few of us would have seen them up to the park. Bailey 

 got a view of the fox in the shrubberies, but he managed to slip away in 

 the direction of the Forest, with the hounds close to his brush. There was 

 no time for delay, and Mr. Miller's lead at the Barrington brook was 

 freely accepted. Not more than half-a-dozen were near hounds as they 



* Mr. J. G. Crosse's. 



