176 



THE WARWICKSHIRE HOUNDS. 



Lord 



WlLLOUGHBY DE 



Broke. 



From Page's 

 Gorse to Idli- 

 cote» 



on this occasion the glory of the day came, as is often 

 the case, late, and many had departed for home. The 

 meet was VVroxton Abbey, and there was a large field. 

 A VVroxton fox met his fate in the gardens. Another 

 from Chamberlin's Gorse gave a gallant forty-five 

 minutes over the valley nearly to Farnborough and 

 back, leaving MoUington to the right, and pointing for 

 White's Bushes at a very fast pace. Making again for 

 Wroxton, he saved his brush in a drain about a mile from 

 the covert where he was found. The country was good, 

 but a brook early in the run prevented all except the 

 few who could take it from seeing exactly what was 

 done. But this was not the work of the day. In the 

 middle of the afternoon, from Page's Gorse, in the 

 neighbourhood of Farnborough, there stole away a fox 

 of the grand old sort. At a tremendous pace, the bitch 

 pack followed up the hill and over the Banbury road, 

 and near to White's Bushes. Then again over the 

 valley, and without a check to Edgehill, along the 

 crest of which they ran. Then ho sank the vale, 

 and settled for a good stiff line over that glorious bit 

 of country as his final effort. Some three or four miles 

 of the vale did he give them, or rather the few who 

 had been able to survive, before darkness descended and 

 saved him near Idlicote. The distance from Page's 

 Gorse to Idlicote is nine miles on the map, 

 and ten minutes under the hour was the time taken. 

 Lord Willoughby, Sir C. Mordaunt, Mr. John Mor- 

 daunt, Mr. George Norris, Mr. Bacchus, Mr. Frank 

 Wood, and Mr. Merry, were those at the finish. Orvis 

 was in his place throughout. One who rode it says of 

 it that it was one of the finest the old hunt can boast 

 of. Lady Willoughby was not in the big run as she 

 was amongst those who had gone home. She had, 

 however, ridden exceedingly well throughout the 

 earlier run on Dynamite, which was sold at Tattersall's 

 a few months later for 250gs. 



