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But I am running away with the harrows. There was a very 

 large field out, and I was very glad to see a number of young 

 faces, who, I hope, although they may come to grief now and 

 then at starting, will not give it up if they have one or two 

 falls, but stick boldly to the noble science of fox-hunting. 

 The Colonel intended to draw the Slates first, and then 

 come round by Craigmarlock, but as the morning was so thick, 

 Squires thought it would be better to take the other side of 

 the country. Found at once in Aucheubothie Gorse; in fact, 

 I viewed the fox away from the covert before the hounds were 

 thrown in. He went back, however, and they ran him round 

 the west end (where I think another fox went away to 

 Craigmarlock), and he broke down the hill over a little boggy 

 hollow as if for the strips, but went along the west side 

 of the road, and up over the Kilmalcolm and Finlayston 

 road, and tried the earth at Knockmountain. Finding no 

 refuge there, he then went to the left, over the high part 

 where the original covert was (rather a nasty drop to 

 negotiate), and down over the above-mentioned hill to the 

 west end of Finlayston, where they ran him to ground in the 

 rocks above the Greenock road. This was a very pretty 

 twenty minutes, and as hard as they could " leg" it all the way 

 without a check. Trotted up to a small part of gorse, near 

 what they call Brodie's Wood. It is a curious fact that, when 

 the Colonel has been out shooting, he has invariably put out 

 a fox from this whin; and just as Squires was going up to the 

 covert, so sure was he that he would be at home, and afraid 

 that he would chop him, cracking his whip, out he went like 

 an arrow. The hounds ran him through Craigmarlock and 

 down to the Dam. Leaving Castle Hill to the left, the fox went 

 over the water. Here the field lost sight of the hounds, as 

 they went round the side of a small hill on to Aucliindores. 

 The Colonel, thinking they were bending for Knockmountain, 

 jumped into the road, and the field followed. At this point, 

 the second whip, who had collected three couple and a half of 

 hounds, must have headed him, and, riding down the Finlay- 

 ston road, turned off to the right with these hounds. Seeing 



