FOX-HUNTING RECOLLECTIONS 55 



'' On the i6th January 1875 we met at Hilltop 

 Gate, and after drawing a lot of woodlands 

 blank in the morning we at last found a capital 

 good fox at Abbotstanding, and ran a great 

 pace across the open forest to Langley Manor 

 and then on to Southampton Water : up to this 

 about fifty minutes. The fox lay down on the 

 mud, and the hounds could not reach him without 

 sinking step by step as they got nearer to him. 

 There were sixteen couples of doghounds out, 

 and it was getting dusk. I was engaged to dine 

 that night at Minstead Manor House with Mr. 

 Henry Compton, so I left and told Jack to get 

 hold of the fox if he possibly could. That 

 evening, rather late, as the party were coming 

 out of the dining-room, a footman came up to 

 me and said, ' They have sent up from the 

 kennels to say they got the fox after all, and 

 Manager brought home the head.' The genial 

 squire said to me, ' If we had only got that 

 message five minutes sooner we would have 

 opened another bottle of claret.' 



'' On the 30th March met at Stony Cross. 

 Found at Lucas' Castle, and ran him over to 

 Ocknell and back to the enclosure at Pugpits, 

 where we lost him. Found at King's Garn, and 

 ran him by Lynwood,Bramshaw, Ocknell, Broomy, 

 to Islands Thorns, where the fox was just before 

 us and quite done. As we went into the last 

 enclosure a lot of young horses which were 

 turned out in the Forest galloped into the middle 

 of the pack. This gave the fox a chance, and we 



