48 REMINISCENCES OF 



of the keepers was standing by ; I gave him hold 

 of the deer, jumped on my pony and galloped to 

 the gate (about 200 yards). I had almost got there 

 when a half-tired doe galloped in front of me and 

 rammed her head through the palings. The hounds 

 were all round her, and killed her. I got the hounds 

 all out of the park except three, and they ran another 

 doe into the lake and drowned it. Stephen got 

 them and brought them on. This was about seven 

 in the morning and we went quietly home. It was 

 very hot. 



At four in the afternoon we coupled all the 

 worst reprobates, and went back to Arbury ; trotted 

 them among the deer to let them see them. There 

 were some paddocks with high fences for the mares 

 and foals. I trotted into one of them, shut the gate, 

 and let the men crack into the reprobates till they 

 dropped their sterns and understood the meaning 

 of "Ware haunch". I said to Stephen "What was 

 that red bitch that ran at the head of them ? " He 

 said, "That was 'Tidings/ an Atherstone bitch; 

 she has often done it before". "Are not you a 



d d fool to let me come among the deer without 



telling about her ? " I wrote to Charlie Newdegate, 

 who was in London, and told him what had happened. 

 He wrote back, "It was lucky that it was in my 

 park ". 



Having laid the foundation of the new Ather- 

 stone pack, I went home to Charleton in June to 

 attend to my duties as Colonel of Fife Mounted 

 Rifles. My first duty was to request that their 



