176 THE MEYNELL HOUNDS. [1854 



master be at home or abroad, there is always a crust of 

 bread and a glass of grog for those who like to accept of 

 his hospitality — and, what is still more to his credit, there 

 is always a fox to be found at home, and that, in a short 

 time, without knocking horses about all morning from 

 cover to cover. At the first meet of the season there, we 

 found in less than ten minutes and killed after forty 

 minutes without a check, and another day we found in 

 the gorse to the north of the park, and killed after thirty 

 minutes without a check ; and I believe this meet, which 

 has become a favourite one, afforded a run not only on 

 every occasion of the hounds throwing off there throughout 

 the season, but on other days when they met elsewhere. 



" On the present occasion the hounds were trotted off 

 at once across the park to the Birch wood Park covers, and 

 were no sooner thrown into the plantations than 'Tally- 

 ho ! ' — ' Gone away ! ' was heard from the well-known 

 voice of that gallant sportsman, Mr. Craven, of the Birch - 

 wood Park farm, and away we went through the planta- 

 tions, past the gorse, and on towards Sherratt's Wood, but 

 he turned to the right as though he meant visiting Heath 

 House or Carry Coppice ; but, after crossing a few fields 

 in that direction, a second thought struck him, and, turning 

 round to the left, he passed Middleton Green and to 

 Draycott Woods, which he reached at his best pace, 

 scattering a very large field in all directions. Having 

 entered Bromley's Wood he bore to the right, and the 

 pack being well together, and on excellent terms with 

 'the rascal,' we were not long in reaching the Cheadle 

 and Sandon turnpike road, and it is here worthy of remark, 

 that, so often as I had seen these hounds bring their fox 

 from Chartley up to about this point, I never remember 

 to have seen them on any former occasion get beyond here 

 without a turn towards home again, from some cause or 

 another." 



(In the manuscript there is here a query interpolated in 

 a different handwriting, "Were not the hounds stopped 

 on some of these occasions ? ") " The case was different. 



