FOX-HUNTING RECOLLECTIONS 87 



light. Happily for him, however, the sound 

 of the dinner bell at Netheravon reached the 

 ears of old Mortimer, who quickened his steps, 

 and not long afterwards found his way in the 

 dark to his own stables. As we came out from 

 the dining-room about nine that evening, Godfrey 

 Webb walked into the hall, and all ended well. 



The next season of 1880 and 1881 was a 

 hard winter ; we were stopped by frost many 

 days, and only killed sixty-nine foxes. During 

 part of the time I was laid up with a severe 

 attack of sciatica, the result of wading in the 

 river when fishing the previous autumn, and con- 

 sequently I missed a good many days' hunting. 



The following season of 1881 and 1882 was 

 very open ; we were only stopped one day by 

 frost and one day by fog, and killed seventy-eight 

 foxes. In the spring of that year, 1882, I asked 

 the Duke of Beaufort to bring his pack over 

 to have an invitation day in the Tedworth 

 country. It was a very long way for them to 

 come by road, and it was not a success, as it 

 turned out a wild windy day and a shocking 

 bad scent. I remember a large party of sports- 

 men came with the Duke from Badminton, and 

 among them was Lord Waterford, the 5th Marquis, 

 who at that time had just been forced to re- 

 linquish hunting the Curraghmore Country in 



