314 THE MEYNELL HOUNDS. [1891) 



counted on to furnish a second fox, except the gardens, in which the churchyard 

 is situated, and hero a child's funeral was being held, so, of course, hounds were 

 taken quietly away. 



Thursday, December 21st, was the first day on which these hounds have been 

 out since the frost began on Saturday, December 9th. The field, which mustered 

 at Lees Green to meet them, was probably the smallest on record for a Thursday, 

 ])ecause a gi-eat many people thought it was not fit to hunt. In reality, the 

 roads and gateways were the only slippery places. Parson's Gorse was drawn 

 blank, but a fox was soon on foot in the Nurseries, whom they ran for six or 

 seven minutes up to the road from Eadburne to Derby, where they lost him. 

 They found again in the Brick-kiln Wood, but lost him after a short run of a few 

 minutes. Scent was very moderate with these foxes. They then drew the 

 foTU'-acres and gardens at Mickleover blank ; while the Potlucks, too, was 

 tenantless. Tlie famous Kough was the p««ce de resistance of the day, and 

 amply sustained its reputation, for it held that vara avis in these days— a good, 

 straight-necked fox. On the first blush there did not appear to be much scent, 

 as hounds checked in the second field, but this was owing to a sharp right- 

 handed turn on the part of the fox, who had started as if he meant going to 

 Sutton Gorse. Hounds, however, flinging eagerly to recover the hne, hit it off 

 without assistance, and then ran — sometimes fast, but always at a good holding 

 pace — for twenty-five minutes. During these, the brightest from a riding point 

 of view of the run, they left Dalbury Hollow on the left, ran memly down to the 

 Trusley brook, and, bearing right-handed, chattered along parallel with it till 

 nearly opposite Grange fields, where they crossed it. It would not have been 

 like the Trusley brook not to have taken toll of its passengers, and to-day at least 

 two of our number had to pay their fare. One of them will soon know all about 

 the bottoms of the brooks in these parts, like the hard-riding squire, who claimed 

 to have tested every ditch in Bucks, Oxon, and Northants, in the course of a 

 long career. With plenty of room and a smaller train, hounds ran on to Over 

 Burrows, where the fox was viewed, and we hoped to have caught him. But 

 these hill gentry laugh at twenty-five minutes, unless the pace is a cracker, and 

 we had been running barely as long as that up till now. Carrying the line over 

 the road from Brailsford, they ran nicely till the cold, snowy ploughs, just short 

 of the Car, fairly brought them to their noses, and probably saved the life of this 

 good-travelling fox. Some foxes might have dwelt in the Car, but not so this 

 Hector of the hills, for hounds ran straight through and out on the main road 

 side. Crossing the Derby and Ashbourne main road, they hunted on, at times 

 even running fast, past Wild Park, over the road between Mugginton and 

 Mercaston, and over the Mugginton brook. Hereabouts, two men running, 

 gesticulating, and shouting, two fields in front, naturally raised hopes of our 

 being close on our fox, but it was their newly-sown wheat which was still more 

 naturally the source of their anxiety, and every one rode most carefidly round 

 the extreme edge. Meanwhile hounds were getting behind their fox, owing to 

 the cold, half-frozen ground on tiie hills carrying no scent, and by the time they 

 got to the new gorse at Ravensdale Park, it was foimd to be hopeless to pursue 

 their fox any longer. So ended a capital run of an hour. 



This was a day snatched out of the fire, for on Friday we had snow again. 



On Monday, Januarylst, 1900, hounds came to Osmaston, but, owing to a thick 

 fog. were unable to hunt. However, the occasion was utilized for presenting the 

 Hunt wedding present, a beautiful silver gilt rose bowl, to that best of sportsmen, 

 Mr. Frank Cooper, and Mrs. Cooper, of Barton Blount. The Master presented the 



