282 THE MEYNELL HOUNDS. [1899 



Forest Banks, wliere they were stopped, and went home. So ended a really good 

 sporting day, and it is to be hoped the experiment may soon be repeated, if it so 

 please the i)owers that be. 



Thursday, at Thurvaston, treated us to a rare, good old-fashioned hunting 

 run. Finding at Culland, they ran fast up-wind across the brook and over the 

 Hollington road, as if his point was for Shirley. But he soon turned very sharp 

 left-handed down-wind, leaving Reeve's Moor on his right. He recrossed the 

 Hollington road at Hollington, and they ran at a diminished pace to the left of 

 Culland into the Pond Head Covert at Brailsford. Going away from here, he was 

 viewed over the Derby road pointing for Wild Park. With this on their right 

 they hunted him nicely — even running fast for a few fields whenever he happened 

 to turn up-wind, as he did now and then in his erratic course — pointing for 

 Mugginton. Passing Mercaston Stoop, he left Mugginton on his right and crossed 

 the road to HuUand about three-quarters of a mile from the village at the exact 

 spot where an Osmaston fox, which beat them, crossed earlier in the season. 

 Curiously enough, too, our fox to-day took almost the exact route that the other 

 one did up to the point where they lost him, and a very twisting one it was in 

 both cases. But to-day instead of losing him they hunted him on, with a little 

 well-timed help from their huntsman, nearly to Bradley. Here he turned back 

 for Ednaston, across the brook, and by the osier-bed (famous for the great Winster 

 run), where a useful halloa practically finished him. For, getting on good terms 

 with him, tliey bustled him through the Ednaston coverts, past the lodge, and 

 never left him till they rolled him over in the main road after a capital hunting 

 run of an hour and twenty minutes. In the afternoon they found three foxes at 

 Brailsford Xevv Gorse, ran one to ground, and it was decided to dig him out. 

 Meanwhile they hunted another one of the trio a twisting line to Ednaston, where 

 they lost him. Then they came back and gave the dug-out fox a chance for his 

 life, which he repaid by going to ground again, as is unusually the case. There 

 they left him. They then drew White's covert and the car at Brailsford blank, 

 but found in the small rhododendron covert in front of Mr. Cox's house, and ran 

 fast up-wind to Culland, and, hanging there for a bit, they hunted him slowly by 

 Burrows, through the Car, by AVild Park, where he ran them out of scent. 



Saturday, New Inn. Another rough, wild mornmg tried the temper of men 

 and horses. Holly Bank, Knightley Park, and Rangemore Gorse were drawn 

 blank, but a fox was found in Mosley's Gorse in a blinding storm, which was 

 disastrous to scent. Consequently the hounds could only run very slowly, check- 

 ing in every field, over a nice bit of country, to the Henhurst, where they marked 

 him to ground in the main earth. After chopping a fox in the New Inn plantation, 

 they found rather late in the afternoon in Kingstanding Gorse. Contrary to 

 expectation, for the gorse is very thick, our fox went away gallantly without 

 much persuasion, and set his head for Hanbury. Just at the east end of Parson's 

 Brake he turned towards that covert, and the leading sportsmen, two of whom 

 were old hands, and ought to have known better— supposing hounds had gone 

 into it, practically rode a steeplechase parallel with it, to the further end. Here 

 they pulled up, looking foolish, not knowing where hounds were. Two or three 

 ardent spirits continued their point-to-point steeplechase across the road, heading 

 for Holly Bush. Meanwhile hounds had turned sharp right-handed at the east end 

 of the brake, without touching it, and ran across by New Lodge, into the Greaves, 

 and out again towards the new gorse, with only the huntsman, two gentlemen, 

 and little Master Randall on his famous skewbald pon}' with them. Turning back 

 into the Greaves, they slipped down-wind, crossed Draycott Cliff, with only the 

 two whippers-in and one or two others with them, and ran uicely along the lower 



