18 THE ETON COLLEGE HUNT, 



skin without so much exertion as a long run over heavy ground. 

 It used to make for a long coppice beyond the Datchet Road, 

 and when the pack ran into him there he would run up and 

 down immune, and finally run quite kindly into the bag in 

 which he had left his pleasant quarters at Ward's Lodge. He 

 also developed a natural love of drains; and thereby hangs a 

 tale, memories of which seem to discredit Joby Minor. Our 

 badger had found a drain under the S.W.R. a nicer refuge than 

 even that wood, and so Joby was ordered to stop it before 

 unbagging the badger out that way. One ' after twelve ' we 

 had a merry run up to that drain but found it stopped. Hounds 

 swore badger was inside ; Joby swore he had stopped it ; and 

 suggested that finding this the badger had got out to the 

 metalled line one way or the other, leaving on that no scent. 

 It was dangerous to test this, and, casts on the fields either side 

 faihng, we drew off homewards. On the run back suspicions 

 seized us, and two of us undertook to shirk hall or cut it short 

 and run out again to that stopped drain before Chapel. Joby 

 was right, but very wrong too ! He or his understudy had 

 stopped the drain, but not till the badger had been allowed to 

 run in ! He unstopped it when we were safely gone, and the 

 badger had walked into its familiar bag. Had we two not met 

 him just leaving the line he would probably have tried to sell us 

 that badger the following week ! I still cannot think unkindly 

 of Joby when I recall the humour of this incident ; or think of 

 the Beagles of 1864 and of many friends who followed them, of 

 whom two later on — Frere and Somers-Smith — ran for Oxford 

 over shorter distances than we covered." 



Lewis was famous for his Rape of the Block, which was 

 restored to the Head Master in 1891. The Block, as all Old 

 Etonians will know, is used by offending boys to kneel on during 

 the process of being swiped. 



About this time the kennels underwent some improvement. 

 *' A new room was added, a new palisade raised and the brick 

 pavement laid down. The appearance of the whole was workman- 

 like and neat, but not gaudy, reflecting credit on Mr. Martin, 

 the carpenter." 



<« Con — found all 'ares wot takes to parkses " (vide Mr. 

 Jorrocks) was very appropriate to their country with Stoke Park 

 and Ditton Park in the middle of it as tempting places of refuge 

 for a sinking hare. 



On one occasion in I^ewis's season he was favoured with a 

 visit. 



^* Wednesday, St. Matthias' Day, dies creta notandus, the 



