44 THE MASTER OF HOUNDS 



to the most important briefly, omitting those which 

 took place previous to the commencement of the 

 century. On December lo, 1801, a memorable run 

 took place from Lord Northampton's seat at Compton 

 Wynites, when a fox, found in the gorse by Epwell 

 White House, ran before hounds for four hours and 

 a quarter, till 5.15 p.m., when they were whipped off on 

 account of the darkness. " Not one horse returned 

 that night to the stable he had left in the morning," 

 says the record. In another run from Wolford a fox 

 eluded hounds after running before them for six 

 hours. Only one man, viz.. Jack Barrow, the first 

 whip, finished on the same horse that he started on. 

 This distance is computed at fifty miles. 



On Easter Monday, 1803, the finish took place in 

 Lady Hertford's ornamental dairy, when 



" The pack, heedless of the damsel's scream, 

 First ate the fox — then drank the cream." 



In 1806, starting from Bearley Bushes, hounds 

 accounted for their fox after four hours and fifty 

 minutes. Certainly Mr. Edward Goulburn, in his 

 poem, dated 1807, called "The Epwell Hunt," was 

 justified in writing 



" The blood of old Trojan is all I desire, 

 So give me the hounds of the Warwickshire Squire." 



If these runs were not recorded by unimpeachable 

 authorities, the modern hunting-man would regard 

 them as exaggerations. That they must have been 



