CHAPTER VIII 



ON leaving Missenden Abbey I had taken a 

 furnished lease of Harefield Grove, near 

 Rickmansworth, for the term of twelve 

 months, the while Chorleywood House, 

 which I had purchased from my fellow clubman, 

 Baily-Ackroyd, was being prepared for occupation. 

 The long disused kennels, situated on the edge of 

 Chorleywood Common, had been renovated and my 

 hounds, horses, and hunt servants were already 

 comfortably established there. There was quite a 

 nice bit of shooting attached to Harefield Grove, a fair 

 show of partridges, and some 300 homebred pheasants, 

 so that when at times that season Jack Frost had 

 placed his veto on hunting, I and my friends were able 

 to indulge in sport with the gun. It was in these 

 comfortable quarters that the second of my three sons 

 (Denis) first saw the light. 



As soon as Chorleywood House was ready we 

 migrated there, and our social and domestic life began 

 in earnest. My C.O. was not really a hunting 

 enthusiast. During my Mastership of the Missenden 

 and Hambleden Vale Harriers she had ventured to 

 trust herself on horseback now and then, but one fine 



IOO 



