1901] PRESENTATION TO STEPHEN BURTENSHAW. 353 



and ran to ground a few minutes later to the right of Hamstall-Eidware. A fox 

 was soon away from Rough Park on the Hoar Cross side. Hounds crossed the 

 brooklet and ran fast over Park Hill, bearing always left-handed, down to the 

 Blythe, as if they were going for Laurence's Wood. But they turned short along 

 the river, best pace, with Hamstall-Ridware well on their right, and, still working 

 left-hand-wards, ran nearly to Bancroft before they turned left into Rough Park. 

 A fox was halloaed away thence, and hounds crossed the brooklet again, dweUing 

 on the plough before they got to the road from Hamstall-Ridware to Hoar Cross. 

 No doubt there was a brace of foxes on foot here, for there was a halloa back 

 towards the covert which they had just left. But an old hand, standing in the 

 road just mentioned, had seen the fox going on ; so on we went, hounds running 

 by fits and starts, with a twisting fox, in the direction of Hoar Cross, till they 

 eventually marked him to ground between Bentilee Park and Bromley Hurst, 

 after a good forty-five minutes. After drawing Dolesfoot blank, they found 

 quickly in Jackson's Bank, and ran out to the New Church road as if for King- 

 standing, but the fox turned short at the road, through the corner of Jackson's 

 Bank, and set his head for Hollybush. Hounds ran fast nearly to Newborough 

 before they turned into Elton Covert, Hollybush, right through it, across the water 

 and up to the road which goes from Six Roads Ends to Newborough, and checked 

 in the lane which leads to Agardsley Park. Here Liable hit ofif the line down 

 the road, but, unluckily, the huntsman, casting to the right, did not see her, and 

 some little time was lost. However, the mistake was soon rectified, and, catch- 

 ing up the leading hound, they checked just short of Swilcar Lawn, after running 

 for twenty-five minutes. The fox had been viewed over the road by several 

 men, and hounds carried the line into Swilcar, but were too far behind him to 

 do any good, so the Master gave the order for home. 



Thursday. It would be difficult to find a more truly English scene than the 

 meet at Radburne on the occasion of the ])reseiitation to Stephen Burtenshaw 

 of a cheque for £220, a clock, and a beautiful gold watch (this latter from the 

 farmers in the Hunt), as a testimony to the goodwill of all classes towards him. 

 As you rode through the Park under the oaks, whose gnarled trunks and naked 

 limbs looked as if they had stood the storms of a thousand j'ears, and you saw 

 the hounds in the foreground, where the pink of the men's coats lent a touch 

 of positive colour to the picture, horsemen standing about here and there, while 

 behind them the great house reared its massive walls of ruddy, time-mellowed 

 brick — as the eye took in all this, and noted the group on the steps in front of 

 the house, with the familiar figure of the Squire in the centre, the observer 

 could not fail to be struck with the singular harmony of every detail. The few 

 well-chosen words which accompanied the presentation thoroughly expressed 

 what every one else must have felt. The Squire reminded us of the fact that 

 he had been the means of bringing Stephen into the Meynell country, and said 

 how sorry he was that he was leaving, ending up with paying a well-earned 

 tribute of praise to the latter's many good qualities. Steplien's reply did equal 

 credit to his head and his heart, and the genuine ring of the compliment paid 

 to his successor must have struck every one. It falls to the lot of but few people 

 to be equally popular with all classes, but Stephen seems to have been one of 

 those few ; and it was evident that Mr. Joseph Shipton's words, when he pre- 

 sented the gold watch subscribed for by the farmers, did no more than express 

 the opinion of those for whom he spoke. He had a very pleasing, though, at 

 the same time, a painful duty to perform, he said, in presenting a gold watch to 

 their huntsman, Stephen Burtenshaw, on behalf of his farming friends. He was 

 sorry that his (Stephen's) career as huntsman in this country had come to an 

 VOL. 11. 2 a 



