THE H. H. 205 



and Bentley after a capital run of one hour and thirty- 

 five minutes. The workmanlike manner in which the 

 hounds were managed by Lord Gifford and his whipper- 

 in when they divided was the ne plus ultra of per- 

 fection; and Grant's quickness in getting forward with 

 the tail hounds was equally a subject for praise. I have 

 never seen any whipper-in do his work better than 

 Grant when whipping-in to Lord Gifford. 



The country' known as the H. H. is by no means one 

 in which a hard-riding man has opportunities for dis- 

 tinction; neither did I ever think it was quite the kind 

 of country to suit Lord Gifford ; in which opinion it 

 would appear his Lordship concurred, retaining it only 

 three seasons, when he made an arrangement to hunt 

 Herefordshire. However rough the latter country may 

 be, it is a sporting one withal, capable of affording 

 some good substantial old-fashioned runs, and of 

 putting the qualities of hounds and the skill of their 

 huntsman to the test. Lord Gifford met with a very 

 rough reception early in the cub-hunting season, not 

 from either the sportsmen or farmers, who were all 

 rejoiced to receive him, but from a nest of hornets. 

 They met at Trebandy on the 1st of October, where 

 they found a leash of foxes, and presently settling to 

 one of them, ran him to ground in a bank over-hanging 

 a brook, when his Lordship jumped off his horse to 

 examine the place, and was momentarily assailed by a 

 quantity of hornets which the unexpected visit had 

 aroused from their nest in an old ash-pollard. Lord 

 Gifford was glad to retire from their territories with all 

 imaginable precipitancy, but was unable to escape their 

 venomous weapons, with which they attacked him 

 about the head, neck, and hands. The gentlemen and 

 farmers who were present extracted the stings, and the 

 acuteness of the pain being allayed, determined that 

 his hounds should, if possible, have blood, he drew for 

 another fox, which in an hour's time was brought to 

 hand, compensating him in some measure for the agony 

 he had experienced. All who are acquainted with Lord 



