The Duke of Grafton's, 403 



day from London) come down to the Duke of Grafton 

 cMefly in the spring; disembarking either at Blis- 

 worth, Wolverton, or Wee don. 



The Duke of Grafton's hounds are out three days a 

 week — his country being by no means an extensive 

 one^ and only a moiety of that formerly hunted 

 by Lord Southampton. These days are Monday, 

 Wednesday, and Friday : and are distributed much 

 as follows. Monday is alternately for the north- 

 western, or Fawsley side, where you get both grass 

 and plough, and every chance of a gallop into the 

 Bicester territory towards Boddington or Griffin's 

 Gorse, or over the stoutly-fenced pastures that inter- 

 vene before Shnckburgh can be reached : These 

 meets are always attended from Weedon, and fre- 

 quently from the Pytchley dominion. The other 

 alternate Mondays are for the Towcester and Blis- 

 worth district, where plough and small fences prevail 

 throughout. 



The chief Monday meets on the north-west are 

 Preston Capes, whence the usual draws are Church 

 Wood and the Fawsley coverts (owned by Sir R. 

 Knightley), or the deep Badby Wood, a neutral covert 

 with the Pytchley. All these are full of foxes and 

 prolific of sport. From Woodford they get to Hinton 

 Gorse — quite on the outside of their own territory, and 

 bordering on a grand spread of country, belonging 

 part to the Bicester, part to the Warwickshire. The 

 great deep grass fields and the dense bullfinches of this 

 region call for the highest and boldest qualities on the 

 part of the horse — only to be employed to the full at 

 the hands of a high- class rider to hounds. Close to 

 p F 2 



