Ids THE WARWICKSHIRE HOUNDS. 



Lord quently manage five hunting days out of 



WlLLOUGHBY DE , , . , , . r . i r! i i 



Broke. •'^e six, and by going lurther a-neld, 



meets of *' the Pytchley," and " the North War- 



wickshire " can be added to your engagement 

 book. Banbury is only two hours from London by two 

 lines of railway, half-an-hour from Oxford and the same 

 from Leamington, if the sojourner cares for an occasional 



■ change. "Good accommodation for man and beast,'' 



quarters. ^^ ^^^ old inn signs used to say, is to be found there, 

 the Red and White Lions being ever ready in this 

 respect, the whiter animal of the two being all the 

 more appreciative of the needs of the hunting man 

 and steed, as its proprietor, and, of late years, his son, 

 are regular attendants on the local packs, and a mount 

 that will carry you is always to be found in its stables. 

 The status of 1° an earlier page I promised to make a further 



Warwickshire, remark before closing as to the position of Warwick- 

 shire in the list of hunting countries. At that time 

 Leicestershire occupied the premier place, Northamp- 

 tonshire being second, and Warwickshire third. Now, 

 my readers, what is the verdict now ! I suppose we 

 daren't lay a finger upon the glorified Leicestershire, 

 but may we transpose the second and third ? I have half 

 a mind to do it. Of late years especially, " the Warwick- 

 shire " have so gone ahead, that for speed and for 

 hunting capabilities I venture to maintain they can 

 hold their own against any. The loyalty of the in- 

 habitants of their country gives them plenty of sport, 

 and as regards the country, well, let a fox from Shuck- 

 burgh or Ufton settle determinedly on a line down that 

 side of the country, and then, when he has seen him 

 pulled down after a ten mile point-to-point, ask one 

 from Northamptonshire what he thinks of it. Or 

 give him a Wolford or a Whichford fox with his nose 

 for "the wind-breaking" hills, and learn what he 

 thinks of the mettle that's needed in a Warwickshire 

 steed. 

 Gonclusion. And now, though far longer delayed than I imagined 



