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his trousers for breeches, and joined the hunt. In- 

 stead of my mare going slowly as his had done, she 

 rushed at it, and somehow got her fore-feet en- 

 tangled in the bough of a tree that had been placed 

 across the bottom. There she was fixed ; the more 

 she struggled, the worse tangle she got into, and I 

 was obliged to get some men from a farm-house to 

 dig her out. They fetched a cart-rope, and eventually 

 pulled her clear. By this time the hounds had gone 

 as far as Keythorpe ; from there I heard they went 

 on to Hallaton Thorns, Fallow Closes, Slawston, 

 Medbourne, and whipped off when it was quite dark 

 at Blaston, after running three hours and forty-five 

 minutes. It was an extraordinary performance on 

 the part of both Colonel Thomson and his hounds. 

 He went home to Brixworth with them — eighteen 

 miles away — where he arrived at ten o'clock, had 

 some dinner, and appeared in the ball-room at 

 Market Harborough, twelve miles from Brixworth. 

 at half-past twelve, where I need not tell you he 

 met with a very hearty reception. Congratulations 

 were showered upon him all round. I arrived with 

 my mare at Harborough about half-past six. She 

 was rather tired, and, like myself, glad to get back 

 home, as it had been a precious hard day. This 

 was, I think, the best and lono^est run I ever saw. 



18 



