38 FOX-HUNTING RECOLLECTIONS 



stables were always full of high -class hunters 

 for sale. 



Many of my friends used to come and stay 

 with me for a night or two to try their intended 

 purchases with the Cotswold when cub-hunting. 

 He was a capital salesman as well as a fine horse- 

 man, with the best of hands ; the nags sometimes 

 did not go quite so smoothly when handled by 

 the young and gilded purchasers. A great talker 

 was Bob Chapman, and capital company at all 

 times, especially over his own mahogany at 

 Oaklands. 



Another neighbour was Lord Coventry, who 

 was Master of the North Cotswold, which he 

 hunted himself with remarkable success. He 

 had a capital lot of hounds, and was very keen 

 to show sport and catch his foxes ; he then lived 

 at Spring Hill near Broadway, and many a day 

 did I enjoy with him and his hounds when he 

 was mounted on Solferino, and his Roman, 

 Rambler, Demon, Tradesman, and the rest of 

 them were flying over the walls. No better judge 

 of horse and hound then and now, no better all- 

 round sportsman perhaps in England. 



That year, 1871-72, we had a very good 

 season; eighty-eight days' hunting killed 21J 

 brace of foxes, and were stopped eight days by 

 frost. At the end of the season Tom Hills left. 



