DEAR DIRTY FEBRUARY. 89 



and freely. There is seldom a giant field with the Belvoir; 

 but that of to-day included many faces besides those regularly 

 in attendance. Mrs. Candy was renewing pleasant memories 

 in a gallop over familiar ground, and riding with zest and 

 talent as pronounced as ever. Nor was hers the only habit 

 distinguishable or distinguished in the first flight of the run. 

 Mrs. F. Sloane-Stanley never missed a needful fence wherever 

 hounds led ; and Mrs. Pennington rode the line with equal 

 success. Then had not Capt. J. Brocklehurst reappeared on 

 the scene, with his old talent for crossing a country no whit the 

 less bright for his sojourn in the land of Egypt? Mr. George 

 Lambton was there from Buckinghamshire ; Mr. Hugh Owen 

 from Gloucestershire ; Mr. E. Leatham from Yorkshire ; and 

 Mr. Fletcher from Sussex. The men of Oakham have taken 

 most kindly to the Belvoir Wednesdays ; and were represented 

 to-day by Col. and Mr. Fred. Gosling, and Mr. Beaumont 

 while from Melton and round about came Lord Wilton, CoL 

 Forester, Capts. Smith, Boyce, Ashton, Pennington, Counts 

 Kinsky and Kaunitz, Messrs. A. Brocklehurst, H. Barclay, &c 

 with Capt. Longstaff, Messrs. Drummond, J. Welby, Burdett- 

 Coutts, from the home country. And the above, with several 

 others, were all riding right up to hounds throughout. 



Soon the chase had reached Saxelby Wood, passed through 

 that covert, touched Grimston Gorse, and skirted Old Dalby 

 Wood. Now they were at last on plough only two fields of 

 it, but enough to bring forth a spirit of thankfulness for that 

 ours is in the main a grass country. Close at their fox, hounds 

 made light of the arable ; and racing past Lord Aylesford's 

 Gorse (scarcely a field away) dived down into Shoby Scoles 

 while riders galloped parallel on the grassy ridge above. Forty 

 minutes to here. Surely we must get up to him now ! There 

 he is ! See his brown form crawling over the slope. And the 

 galloping horsemen pull up on the brow while the pack work 

 noisily up to them. 



In brief, the hunt went forward whether with a fresh fox 

 or a tired one is a matter of conjecture. If a fresh one, he 



