1890] THE GREAT FROST. 171 



three Misses Mosley are always with us, and with the 

 hounds, for their equestrianism is an established fact with 

 the Meynell. They can ride anything. 



This season calls for but little remark, for sport was 

 decidedly moderate. There was one good day's sport on 

 November 18 th, from Blithfield. To begin with, they ran 

 very fast for twelve minutes from Coley Gorse, to ground 

 close to Newton village, with the fox just in front of 

 their noses. Then they found in Blithfield Gorse, and ran 

 by Blithe Moor up along the meadows through Newton 

 Gorse to Chartley Moss. Then back to the Blythe, where 

 they turned sharp back, and killed their fox close to 

 Newton Gorse, after a good forty-five minutes. Mr. May- 

 nard got a fall into the road jumping the palings out of 

 Blithfield Park near Newton village, and his horse's knees 

 were badly cut. 



Finding a third fox on the Warren, hounds ran a ring- 

 back again, and then started to run very hard with a 

 breast-high scent, and carrying a wonderful liead towards 

 Abbots Bromley, but soon swung to the right, and fairly 

 raced their fox down near Colton. Thirty-five minutes 

 in all, the last twenty-five very fast. 



There were some fair runs after this, but nothing in the 

 least remarkable, and really the most noteworthy thing 

 was the severe frost, which stopped hunting for twenty- 

 five days, from December 12th to January 22nd. In other 

 parts it lasted for sixty days, so the Meynell Hunt, and, as 

 a matter of fact, the Midlands in general, were rather 

 favoured. 



Shirley Park, on January 26th, was the first meet after 

 the frost, and they had a good day, though the ground 

 was hard and slippery in places. 



No one could complain of sport suff'ering from a 

 plethora of foxes, especially on the Monday side, as the 

 following will show. On Monday, February 16th, a fox 

 was found in the Snipe Bog, at Foston, and after a short run 

 got to ground under a tree. From this he was bolted and 

 killed. They then drew Foston top coverts, Pennywaste, 



