304 THE MEYNELL HOUNDS. [1899 



grip-cut surface of the Hilton meadows. Mark those tail hounds threadiiijc their 

 way through the maze of glittering hoofs, threatening destruction, hut forging 

 steadily forward to reach the pack which is a field in front of them across the 

 Sutton-Hilton lane. See, their efforts are rewarded, for the pack is at fault three 

 fields farther on, and the stragglers have joined the mam hody once more. One 

 cannot lielp being glad of it, and how they seem to enjoy their share in that 

 swinging forward cast. A low inviting fence is before us, and fretting horses 

 and eager riders are edging towards it. " It's no use jumping in there," a farmer 

 remarked. " Why not? " " Because the fox has got into this stick heap here. 

 I saw him." Even as he spoke some wide-casting hounds hit off the line forward, 

 proving tliat the farmer must have been mistaken, or that there were two foxes. 

 So they hunted nicely over the ploughed land, which came in their way as they 

 turned left-handed for Sutton. Passing underneath the church, the pace im- 

 proved on the grass, and they ran quite nicely to Arbour Field, where scent 

 unaccountably failed. Hilton Gorse failed to respond to a second call on its 

 resources, but a fox jumped up as hounds were trying a ploughed Held between 

 the gorse and Church Broughton, and ran a few fields in the direction of the 

 village to a pit-hole, where hounds checked. The fox may have gone to ground 

 here, but there was a halloa forward, and they got quickly on the line. The fox 

 turned back, and, getting a view, hounds coursed him up a hedgerow, and looked 

 for a moment like catching him off-hand. But the pursixed gained the first cross- 

 fence before his pursuers, and losing sight of him, they had to tmst to their noses. 

 This they did to some purpose, for they ran fast across the brook and over the 

 Sutton-Hilton lane to Sutton Mill, where there was a considerable delay, while 

 hounds patiently worked out a puzzling line over the brook, through cottage 

 gardens, and a network of lanes, on to the sound pastures beyond. Here they 

 began running again prettily up to the lane from Sutton to Hilton, which they 

 crossed, and it looked as if their fox meant going on. But, changing his mind, 

 he re-crossed the lane, and turned right-handed for Hilton Gorse, where he never 

 dwelt for a moment. A couple of hounds slipped on with him, but luckily with- 

 out escaping the master's eye. A note on his horn gave the office to the Imnts- 

 man, who lost no time in bringing on the main body of the pack. Catching up 

 their leaders, they ran nicely across the Hoon Farm, and over the Hoon Lane to 

 Pennywaste. Running through this, they carried the line slowly through the top 

 Foston Covert, and then ran smartly to the lane to Foston, where the fox was 

 viewed just in front of them. With his back up and his brush down, he plodded 

 across the Park into the Pudding Bag, and it looked any odds on their catching 

 him. But there was a brace of fresh foxes in the covert, and with one of these, 

 they came away past the Hall, through the top covert, to a point beyond Penny- 

 waste, where, being a long way in front of them, he was given up. The hunted 

 fox was seen, after hounds were gone, crawling about somewhere between Foston 

 and Scropton. It was a capital hunt of about forty minutes up to the Pudding 

 Bag, which every one voted most enjoj\able. Later on they found at Potter's, 

 and ran fast for about ten minutes, over the little brook pointing for Longford, 

 but turned right-handed nearly to the Spath, and on to the big field beyond 

 Barton, where they checked, but, hitting off the line a bit to the left, ran nicely 

 towards Sapperton, and then more slowly, right-handed, across Mr. Wainwright's 

 farm in the parish of Boylestone, back to Potter's. 



Tuesday, Hoar Cross. They found at once in the Birchwood and ran up to 

 the top end towards Chantry Wood, where they checked. The huntsman cast 

 back into the wood, but, hearing a halloa towards the Abbots Bromley road, 

 lost no time in getting to it. Hounds got on the line just before they came to the 



