206 THE WARWICKSHIRE HOUNDS, 



Appendix C. was riding two of the best horses in England, but got a 

 very bad start and did not see much of the 

 first and best part of the run, in which the 

 late Mr. Stanley, of Leamington, and Squire Chamber- 

 layne of Stoney Thorpe, held the pride of 

 place. "When I got on " Corsica, " Lord Willoughby's 

 well known bay mare, I passed plenty of good men who 

 had had enough, I remember passing the late Mr. 

 Bolton King, who had only one horse out, as was his 

 custom, and I asked him which way the hounds were. 

 He pointed forward, and said, "I could go on, but I will 

 not risk killing my mare," like a good sportsman as he 

 was. I jumped the last fence that was jumped that 

 day, and, like a silly young fool, decided to go to the 

 Market Harborough Ball that night instead of going 

 home with the jiounds, which would have been, of 

 course, the right thing to do, I asked Mr. Lucy to leave 

 word at the Lodge, at Compton, that I was not coming 

 back, and he passed there and left my message with 

 old Vincent, the stud groom at eleven o'clock at night. 

 When I got to the ball, in Lord Melgund's dress 

 clothes, I found I was not half such a hero as I ex- 

 pected to be, and the mare was so stiff next day that I 

 made up my mind there and then never to sleep out 

 again, a vow which has been religiously kept. We 

 did not kill the good fox, or it would have been the 

 finest run that ever was seen. Mr. Lucy was riding 

 ** Goldfinder," and of course was there ; but I cannot 

 remember who else got to the end. 



W. R. V. 



