THE WARWICKSHIRE HOUNDS. 



Mr- John Corbet Lord Alvanley was a frequent attendant in War- 

 _ll ' wickshire. In the Epwell run, he rode his horse 



sf/'^G^l^'^^SM "Ploughboy" and kept well with the hounds the 

 with. whole day. Sir Grey Skipwith, afterwards a Member 



of Parliament, went well over Warwickshire for a 

 quarter of a century. He was well mounted and 

 although he enjoyed the pleasures of the chase in a 

 quieter manner than many of its followers, he was 

 generally well placed at the finish. Mr. Goulburn 

 thus describes him on the Epwell day : — 



Sticking close to the hounds, observe steady Sir Grey, 

 Eiding equally hard in a quieter way ; 

 Sufficiently forward, yet still keeping bounds. 

 His wish to ride after, not over the hounds. 



^iSton ^^°^ *° ^"^ ^^^ occasion after a meet at Farnborough (this 

 place, by-the-way, produced some admirable sport in 

 the early days of "the War wickshire, "as I shall instance 

 more fully directly) the fox took them a capital spin 

 to Ufton Wood. There was a stretch of twelve miles 

 over grass with only one ploughed field, which, Sir 

 Grey said, for the honour of Warwickshire he would 

 not go into. He was one of the most respected mem- 

 bers of the hunt. His horses were always well bred, 

 and ridden with all the ardour of youth, and he was 

 a true friend ^of fox-hunting in every sense. 



Lord Clonmell. Lord Clonmell, who lived at Allesley, must also be 



remembered among Warwickshire worthies, although 

 he never appeared to wish to be a first flight man. He 

 was, however, an ardent sportsman and a dear lover of 

 the chase, riding sometimes twenty miles to cover. On 

 the Epwell day he came to a standstill at a nasty stone 

 wall and a ditch. He rode a horse named " Michael- 

 mas " on that occasion. He is not credited with an 

 abundance of nerve, and indeed a couplet, which has 

 come down in connection with his name, seems rather 

 rough upon him when it says : — 



A sportsman so keen that he rides miles to cover — 

 To look at a place, that he dare not ride over. 



