232 THE MEYNELL HOUNDS. [1864 



where Mr. Turnbull now lives) to within a mile and a half 

 of Tissington, turned back by Kniveton, across the Wirks- 

 worth road as if for Atlow, turned again to the left, and 

 we stopped them above Hognaston on the Ashbourne and 

 Wirksworth road. Two hours and thirty minutes, 

 thirteen miles point to point." 



Perhaps the art of conditioning horses was better 

 understood now than it was in the twenties, for at the 

 end of such a run as this the old squire always added, 

 "All the horses tired." As his son never says so, are we 

 to conclude that things were different in his day ? 



The last day was on April 9th at Brereton village, and 

 they finished up with killing their fox after a good fifty- 

 five minutes over the chase, under the critical eyes of 

 Peter Collinson and Stephen Dickens, huntsmen to the 

 Cheshire and the Atherstone : killed, eighteen and a half 

 brace ; to ground, four ; hunting days, sixty-four. 



1864-1865. 



The season was ushered in by a very dry autumn, in 

 which there was scarcely any cub-hunting. The opening 

 day was at Kedleston inn on November 8th, when they 

 drew all Kedleston blank. They found in Darley osier 

 bed and Allestree, running both their foxes to ground at 

 once. 



The next day, at Radburne, hounds divided with an 

 afternoon fox from the Rough, and only Mr. Charles 

 Eaton, a very hard-riding farmer, was with one lot (nine 

 and a half couples), which he finally stopped near Holling- 

 ton, and shut up in a stable at Ednaston. The ground 

 was as hard as a brick from the drought. When the 

 weather broke it became very stormy, and sport was very 

 indifferent all through November. Nor was it much better 

 in the early part of December. When the good thing did 

 come off at last, from Loxley, or rather, from Carry 

 Coppice, no one saw it. Hounds crossed the Blythe where 

 it was impassable, and ran clean away from the field, 

 through Birchwood Park to the left of Draycott Woods, 



