340 THE MEYNELL HOUNDS. [1901 



was unavoidably absent, and Mrs. Fort did duty for him. It was freezing and 

 it was foggy, and few people were out. There you have the mise en scene. 

 Now for the play. A fox was halloaed away from Frame Bank at Park Stile, 

 and they ran him as hard as they could split through Hill's Wood nearly to 

 Thatched Lodge, where they turned sharp back as if going for Floyer's Coppice. 

 The writer viewed the fox over the open, going for Hill's AVood, and he also 

 saw them run into their quarry at the end, and it looked like the same fox. 

 But that, of course, is a mere matter of opinion, and can be taken for what it is 

 worth. They may have and probably did change more than once in the 

 interval. Going into Hill's Wood, hounds ran nearly two hundred yards wide 

 of the line, and yet ran as if they were chasing. This eagerness, no doubt — and 

 they were keen and no mistake — caused them to overrun it in Hill's Wood, and 

 there was a check. But the huntsman held them on into the Park, and they 

 ran fast over the open to Dog Kennel Wood, back again through Frame Bank to 

 Hill's Wood, when the huntsman tried back into Frame Bank, where they began 

 running again, probably riot. Blowing his hounds out, he tried through Hill's 

 Wood, where there was more riot, and then over the road into Kingston Wood, 

 which was not successful. So back again into the big wood, where the fox was 

 viewed, and broke away across Lord's Meadow into the Park, but soon headed 

 back into Bagot's Wood again. Working along by Frame Bank and Dog Kennel 

 Wood, the huntsman tried the earths at the top of - Butter-milk Hill, and so 

 evidently had the fox. Casting on into the Forest Banks, he viewed his fox, 

 very tired. The first whipper-in stopped a bit of a riot, which looked like 

 upsetting everything for a minute, in the nick of time, for hounds had not at that 

 moment got on the line of the hunted fox. When they did, however, they never 

 left him till they rolled him over handsomely in the ride at the bottom of the 

 wood, within a hundred yards of Woodlands or Woodrofie's Cliff. Finding again 

 in Swilcar Lawn, they could not do much, but either getting up to him, or finding 

 another in Ash Bank, they hunted him well the whole length of the banks and 

 away by New Lodge to Parson's Gorse, where they were stopped, as they had 

 divided in the Greaves. It was a capital day's sport. 



Monday, January 14th, Sudbury Hall. After partaking of the hospitality 

 which was dispensed at the Hall, a rather large field moved oflf to see 

 hounds draw Sudbury Bottoms, when a great, very light-coloured fox was soon 

 viewed away. Breaking covert on the side nearest the Park, he soon turned 

 back through the bottoms for the Alder Moor. Settling to the line, hounds ran 

 at a good pace through this, over the lane from Somersal to Vernon's Oak, swung 

 left-handed, and leaving Somersal House a couple of hundred yards on their left, 

 crossed the Somersal-Marston-Montgomery lane. Still running nicely, they came 

 down to Somersal brook, across Mr. Cottrill's farm, and it looked as if the fox 

 meant going for Eaton Wood. But instead of going on there he turned short to 

 the left along the brook side, with hounds running at a great pace over these 

 good-scenting meadows, where there was a fence or two which took a good deal 

 of jumping, though the Master's grey horse made nothing of them; in fact, all 

 through this good run he was the beacon bj' which many of us steered. So they 

 ran hard by the osier-bed below Ley Hill, over the turnpike road to the Hare 

 Park, whence the hunted fox was viewed away, and he ran below Brocksford 

 Gorse, hounds running him well across the turnpike again to the right of Ley 

 Hill, and then parallel with the lane from Brocksford to the Sudbury-Somersal 

 road over Mrs. Townsend's farm, and checking just short of the road nearly 

 opposite Maresfield Gorse. There was a useful halloa from a man ploughing, and 



