The Duke of Beaufort's, 267 



ham and Devizes^ sandy soil and broken woodlands — 

 Bowood (Lord Lansdowne^s) and Spye Park (Major 

 Spicer^s) being tlie central points. 



To the east of Compton Bassett again — or beyond 

 Cherhill — the Duke^s hounds get on to the Wiltshire 

 Downs_, great stretches of open galloping grounds — 

 over whose grassy service they have many a fast spin. 

 Beckhampton Gorse for instance, is the source of 

 many such a burst ; and so was^ until lately, St. 

 Ann^s Hill. The gorse, at the latter spot no longer 

 exists ; but to make amends for its loss Lord Ilchester 

 is building a nice new gorse covert midway between 

 Beckhampton and St. Ann^s. 



Moving westward and north-westward across the 

 country from the Wiltshire Downs, we find the Duke of 

 Beaufort''s territory to consist, so to speak, of a series 

 of plateaux, on different levels, each having its dis- 

 tinct characteristics. Leaving the Downs we have 

 the above-mentioned vale en the east bank of the 

 Avon : on the other side of the river we get at once 

 on to a very different district — of which Hullavington 

 is the centre, and which reaches from the Avon to 

 about Malmesbury and Easton Grey. A great deal of 

 this is grass, and, though the soil is of a lighter de- 

 scription it bears the name of being some of the best 

 scenting ground of the Hunt. The fences are walls 

 and fences intermingled. Beyond this again is the 

 Tetbury country — a smooth tableland of light plough 

 and stonewalls (exclusively) stretching from Cirencester 

 to Didmarton and its vicinity. The Cirencester 

 Woodlands, close to the town and verging on the 

 Cotswold Hills, are enormous coverts. They are 



