330 LEAVES FROM A HUNTING UIARV 



know, from \\ illingale Spain to Roxwell boundary, but you 

 ought to have been out." 



Wednesday, December igth, Tyler's Cross. Egotistically summarised, 

 " Duty before pleasure, or virtue rewarded " — for I had to miss a favourite 

 meet, but as events turned out, a very bad day. The only redeeming feature 

 — fortunately sufficient in itself to make up for many bad ones — the return 

 to our midst, and to the sport which he so dearly loves, of our late Master, 

 Mr. Charles E. Green. May he never have to relinquish it again is the 

 sincere wish of us all ! But what did he think — how could he have felt 

 when a youth, not even a member of the Hunt, told him in Parndon Woods 

 to make room for the huntsman ? Perhaps nothing more than pity supreme 

 at ridicule so sublime. 



Saturday at Hatfield Town, December 22nd. — What of this in a gale of 

 wind ? Everything good as far as I could glean on Monday from the privi- 

 leged few who saw it, among them being Mr. A. Waters and Mr. G. Sewell. 

 {Sic !) About 2 p.m. they found him in High Roothing Springs, and one 

 hour and ten minutes afterwards pulled him down in Screen's Park, the 

 line being by Dobbs Wood, through Lord's towards Good Easter on to 

 Screens — real good hunting, with lots of pace. 



This was a g-ood deal better than fell to m\- share with the 

 Pytchley, with whom I threw in my lot that day ; though, 

 considering the gale that was blowing, they did a good deal 

 better than might have been expected, killing their fox in the 

 open at the end of 25 minutes from Badby Wood. The 

 \Vheatsheaf, Daventry, wasn't two miles from the meet, but 

 it might as well have been six lor the two other Essex men* 

 who drove into the yard inquiring for their horses as I slipped 

 into the saddle and started for Badby Wood, reaching it just in 

 time to hear the musical cry of the Pytchley bitches, as, borne 

 on the gale, and echoed from tree to tree, coming closer and 

 closer, the volume of increasing sound burst like the roar of a 

 cataract on my ears as the bitches tore past after their fox, and 

 swung out to the left. " This way," called a man,t whom I 

 knew well and could trust ; but the fox was headed, and we 

 turned back through the wood and left it to a very bad start, 

 as we could see a straggling line of sportsmen drawn out for 

 a mile to our front ; but the hounds were turning for a planta- 

 tion on the crown of the hill to the right, otherwise we might 

 as well have stayed where we were as to try to catch that 

 Heeting pack. But down the side of the triangle we rode for 

 the hounds ; through many a gate, over many a fence, and we 

 caught them on the hill ; lost them again near the end of the 

 gallop for a few brief minutes as we followed Goodall round 

 Staverton W^ood, instead of going through it with Brooksby, 

 Messrs. Loder and Muntz. But a mile down the grass- 



* Mr. Walter Buckmaster and Mr. Rex Caldwell. i Mr. Darby. 



