240 THE MEYNELL HOUNDS. [1866 



the hurricaue that was raging banged up against her. This, 

 it will be remembered, was the cattle-plague year, and 

 hounds were advertised to go to Blythbury, but could not 

 on account of the rinderpest. The weather all through 

 the winter was, for the most part, warm and summery. 



Jack Leedham gave up at the end of this season, as 

 his health failed him. His master, who thought nothing 

 was too good for the Leedhams, who were the enfants 

 gates of Hoar Cross, took him up to Scotland with him 

 to see if the change would do him any good. An amusing 

 incident of the trip was "little " Jack's making a jibbing 

 horse back up a Scotch hill, with the luggage cart, when 

 the animal refused to go in the ordinary way. But Scotch 

 air did not have much effect, and Jack retired, married a 

 wife, and lived for many years at Hoar Cross as bailiff. 



Foxes killed, fourteen brace ; to ground, six brace ; 

 number of hunting days, fifty-three. 



They wound up with two days on Cannock Chace — 

 March 27th and April 3rd. 



1866-1867. 



At the beginning of this season Fred Cottrell became 

 second whipper-in, and for some time the master did not 

 give him a red coat, which led to some good-natured chaff 

 about presenting him with one. Charles took Jack Leed- 

 ham's place as first whipper-in. The opening day was at 

 Sudbury Coppice, on October 29th, when they found three 

 foxes, but did not get hold of one. For some cause or 

 another the field seems to have been more unruly than 

 usual this year, as there are frequent allusions to this in 

 the diary. There were also cases of fox-poisoning in 

 the country, and there was a scarcity of foxes generally. 

 Up to Christmas sport was fair, but there was nothing 

 remarkable. Perhaps the best gallop was a fast thirty- 

 five minutes from Eaton Wood, across the Somersal brook, 

 through the Vernon's Oak dingle, to the left of Sudbury 

 Coppice, over the Ashbourne road and the Cubley brook. 



