84 THE OLD BERKS HUNT 



fixtures, in the home country. Let us picture to our- 

 selves the following paragraph in the Morning Post — 

 " The Old Berkeley Hounds meet to-morrow morn- 

 ing at Scratch Wood, seven miles from London." 

 Half London would be there ; and if the fox took 

 one direction, some of the sportsmen might have an 

 opportunity of imitating my Lord Alvanley's ex- 

 ample who, hunting in the neighbourhood of London, 

 rode at a fence and landed in the second light of a 

 melon frame. 



The Saturday previous to my joining them these 

 hounds had a day's sport which ought to be recorded 

 in the Sporting Magazine. They met at the village 

 of Poulton, and drew Poulton Gorse, the Driffield 

 Coverts and Sir James Musgrave's Coverts blank, 

 but found him in Bibury Gorse, and he immediately 

 went to the ground. Found immediately after at 

 Williamstrip, and I will give the run as I have heard 

 it from a friend who saw it. 



" The fox," says my informant, " broke and ap- 

 peared determined to go away, but was either headed, 

 or turned of his own accord after he had run about 

 two miles, and was viewed back to Williamstrip. 

 Before the hounds got back to the halloo their fox 

 was some way before them. Beautiful cold hunting 

 up to their game, which had waited for them in 

 Williamstrip, and most judicious, quick, and decisive 

 casting, highly creditable to the huntsman, brought 

 them up to their game. A beautiful crash through 

 the covert followed, and he then broke away most 

 gallantly ; first pointed for Bradwell Grove, turned 

 quickly to the left ; crossed the brook leaving the 

 grove to his right, boldly mounting the hill, and 

 facing the open country in a direct line for Farming- 

 ton Grove, at a racing pace over all that fine country, 

 crossing Bibury racecourse within a short distance 

 of the grand stand, then by Lord Sherbourn's new 



