72 



THE WARWICKSHIRE HOUNDS. 



Capt. Russell. 

 1830-1833. 



A run from Rad- 

 bourn Grove. 



An incident. 



An unpromising 

 morning. 



Verney were skirted, and the line laid in the direction 

 of Brickkiln Gorse. But the end was near and came 

 in Walton Wood, his next point. Although not 

 recorded as one of the ** great runs " as regards extent 

 of country taken in, it was a smart piece of work and 

 afforded the well mounted and capable men in a large 

 field an opportunity of showing what they could do. 

 There were only a few in at the death. 



On February 7 th, 1831, the field which turned out 

 at Ladbrooke proved to be the most numerous and 

 brilliant one of the season. It included some well- 

 known sportsmen from Sir J. Gerard's and Mr. Osbald- 

 eston's Hunts. They drew Radbourn Gorse and a fine 

 fox was viewed away and went at a first-rate pace for 

 five-and-thirty minutes over a splendid grass country. 

 By a most circuitous route he reached Watergall 

 where he went to ground. He was, however, dug out, 

 and the hounds held back until sufficient law had been 

 given him. Another twenty minutes was the result, 

 without the field, brilliant as it was, seeing either 

 fox or hound until they came to Farnborough, where 

 Reynard had secreted himself in a farm yard and the 

 game ended. One incident of the run is worth record- 

 ing as displaying great presence of mind and activity. 

 Mr. Brown, a veterinary surgeon of Warwick, was 

 going very fast at a high hawthorn hedge and did not 

 observe that there was water the other side until he 

 got to a few yards of it. He loosed his bridle and 

 caught the bough of an oak tree. His horse dropped 

 into the water at a distance of nine yards and a 

 quarter from the place he took up and swam to the 

 opposite side. He immediately came back to his rider 

 who remounted and continued the chase, neither horse 

 nor man receiving injury. On March 25th of the same 

 year, "the Warwickshire " were due at Whimpstone 

 Bridge, but the snow was thick on the hills, and the 

 anticipations raised were not very great. The material 

 for sport was, however, ready to hand and they were 

 soon away after as good a fox as ever crossed a country. 



