56 THE ETON COLLEGE HUNT. 



*' Hounds bustled her through Mr. Taylor's covert and were 

 close behind her, and would without doubt have repeated our 

 feat o£ the previous week of killing three hares in one day, when 

 bang ! was heard followed by a volley of oaths from Lock, and we 

 found a sportsman (?), Mr. Haynes by name, had shot our hare 

 in front of the hounds. Lock immediately called upon the field 

 to place our shooter in a duck pond which was near; but the 

 latter thought discretion the better part of valour, making off as 

 hard as he could go." 



Before we close this period there are two letters to 

 be recorded, the first from Mr. C. M. Black, first whip in 



1896. 



" I have been looking over old Chronicles and old photo- 

 graphs—in fact, to quote from J. K. S., I have been raking the 

 glacier of years gone by, but really I am afraid my rake has not 

 produced anything very exciting. I ran with the beagles for four 

 seasons and was in the photograph for three years. I don't know 

 whether you still have a photograph, but in my time one was 

 always taken of the Master, whips and a selection of the ' first 

 flighters,' and when fairly junior one was very pleased at being 

 asked to come up for the photograph. 



'' 1894 was a fairly good season. H. B. Creswell was Master, 

 the whips being T. D. Pilkington, who was killed in the South 

 African War, Maurice Atkinson-Clark at my Dame's (Hale's), 

 who died during the same war, and E. R. Davson. We had 

 some very good runners that year, amongst them being G. A. 

 Hodgson, D. O. Dunlop, G. D. Baird and Harold Chapman. 

 The last-mentioned was also at my Dame's. We always ran 

 together and were generally near the front. He was fourth and I 

 fifth in the School Steeplechase that year. In 1895 I turned the 

 tables on him, for I was third to his sixth. He had left by 1896 

 when I won it. There were two ' bills ' that year, the first to 

 Wooburn, the Gilbeys' place; I did not go there, but I went 

 to the other — about the end of February — Maiden Erleigh, the 

 Har greaves' place near Reading. We had an excellent day, 

 killed one hare and should have killed another, but it 

 ' disappeared ' near the station after a fast run. I fancy some 

 loafer picked it up ! Bear Hargreaves, as he was called when at 

 Mitchell's, rode that day (he had left Eton), and I remember 

 holding on to one of his leathers when I was getting beat. We 

 were nobly entertained at the house afterwards, and it was a first 

 rate day altogether, one of the best I can remember. 



'' In 1895 there was a meet near the beginning of the Half, 

 and then not another till well on in February. It was the year 



