CHAPTER VIII 



A HUNT WITH MR. CHARLES McNEILL AND THE 

 NORTH COTSWOLD HOUNDS 



The North Cotswoldthe Eden of fox-hunting — Mr, Charles McNeill, the 

 disciple of Tom Firr — Tom Firr's horn — The composition of the 

 North Cotswold pack — Belvoir-bred bitches — Prices made by 

 Belvoir-bred packs — The celebrities of the kennel — The advantages 

 of well-bred hounds — A Leicestershire element in the Cotswold 

 hill country — The hunt horses — Following Tom Firr across country 

 — Broadway and the kennels — The pick of the stable — A hunt in 

 the hill district — Dan Reid — A fox found up in cloud-land — A burst 

 over the stone wall country and a kill — A fox dies game in front of 

 the pack, 



" I remember the lowering wintry morn, 

 And the mist on the Cotswold hills, 

 Where I once heard the blast of the huntsman's horn. 



Not far from the seven rills, 

 I remember how merry a start we got 



When the red fox broke from the gorse ; 

 In a country so deep, with a scent so hot. 

 That the hound could outpace the horse." 



— Adam Lindsay Gordon. 



There are few more picturesque hunting districts 

 than the country around the Cotswold Hills in the 

 fair county of Worcestershire. This Eden of fox- 

 hunting is a much-sought-after possession, wild and 

 rugged, with variety of scene on hill and dale, pasture 

 and woodland. In the hill districts of the North 

 Cotswold country walls are the only obstacles, but 

 in the Evesham vale on the grass, are flying fences 

 with good pasture ground equal to anything in the 

 shires. 



It has often been said that farmers are the 



"3 H 



