1899] A GOOD FIVE AND FORTY MINUTES, 301 



their clamouring voices disturb the children at their lessons in the school 

 hard by. 



"A puppy just entered a music can speak, 

 More sweetly sonorous than Homer's own Greek," 



or whatever may be his substitute in our national schools, and if put to the vote 

 in Cubley school this day, would not the " ayes " have it? I trow, yes. Look 

 how they are running — the hounds, I mean, not the children. As about the tenth 

 horseman follows his leader up the steep bank of the lane the hounds are just 

 disappearing over the brow of the hill running for Stydd. They are bustling 

 along now, not racing by any means, but dashing and flinging, making their 

 ground good, all life and eagerness, and getting on with their fox. Their 

 followers are in two divisions, nay three or four perhaps, but, of the two little 

 knots nearest to them, one is headed by a gentleman on a brown mare and the 

 other by a good sportsman [Mr. Tinsley] on a great, slashing, brown, long-tailed, 

 Wood horse. Now hounds swing towards one division and now towards the 

 other as " they guide the dubious scent " wavering. Now they swing right- 

 handed with a decided turn, over the great wide drain which runs between Stydd 

 and the Yeavely road. The leaders on the left diverge from the line of the 

 hounds to walk in and out of it, but a very forward light-weight [Mr. Ratcliff ], 

 like the man in the song, rode down to the little innocent-looking fence, "thinking 

 a bit to save," and like him of the said song, " found it was a bally new-made 

 grave. But the pace and his good hunter carried him over safely. Eight-handed 

 still the little bitches are skipping along, disturbing the cows which, with 

 distended udders, are drawing up to the homesteads with pleasurable anticipations 

 of the hour of milking. There is a passage of politeness between the first 

 whipper-in and a farmer's wife, whose cow is doing her best to join the chase, as 

 it crosses the Yeavely- Alkmonton road with Yeavley on the left, and the cow's 

 intentions are frustrated. Who is it says " civility costs nothing, and often 

 brings in large returns " ? Perhaps it was Solomon, or, if not, it was somebody 

 else, but, authorship apart, it is a golden maxim for people who go a hunting. 

 But hounds are presshig on in a determined sort of way which looks bad for the 

 fox. Longford is not far off, and Osmaston looms up on the left. Can he reach 

 -either if they keep on as they are doing now ? A man must look to his steps as 

 he rides, for are there not queer bottoms, whose width is a very variable quantity, 

 to say nothing of wire ? One of our cheeriest and best heavy-weights [Mr. 

 Wallroth] is piloting his division as he gallops joyously on in all the peaceful 

 serenity of one who is quite at home. " To shake him off 'tis vain to try who all 

 the country knows." Everything looks propitious. There is a more than useful 

 scent, and our fox is travelling straighter, as if he had some fixed point in his 

 mind. What it was no one will ever know, for, all of a sudden, just beyond the 

 bridle-road from Alkmonton to Shirley, and one field from the Alkmonton- 

 Longford road, hounds were at fault. They made their own cast to the right 

 over the road, and the huntsman made his to the left, but both efibrts failed. 

 And so the fox won the trick with honours after hounds had treated us to a very 

 pretty hunting run of five and forty minutes. 



On Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday Jack Frost had it all to himself. 



Monday, March 27th, 1899, Braiisford Bridge. A delightful change in the 

 weather made hunting not only possible to-day, but pleasurable. With everything 

 in favour of a day's good sport, a large cavalcade moved oft" in capital spirits to 

 Culland. A fox was soon on foot, but our high hopes were doomed to disappoint- 

 . raent, for he was chopped in covert. The only consolation consisted in the fact of 



