56 THE MASTER OF HOUNDS 



were in the dining-room, the door of which he had to 

 pass during his voyage of discovery. The Squire 

 "twigged" him, and, following him stealthily, turned 

 the key of the larder door when the parson was helping 

 himself to the venison. The parson clamoured to be 

 let out, and the Squire let out a bagged fox while he 

 turned the key. Then the fox hunted the parson through 

 the dining-room, and as pyjamas were not then invented, 

 and the night attire of the period was short and scanty, 

 I shall draw the curtain. But the trouble of the parson 

 did not finish with the hunt, for the Squire compelled 

 him to sing the old song : 



" A parson once had a remarkable foible 

 Of loving good liquor far more than his Bible ; 

 His neighbours all said he was much less perplext 

 In handling a tankard than in handling a text." 



It is difficult, nor is it of material interest after the 

 lapse of close upon a century, to form an estimate of 

 the Squire's riding ability. One thing, however, is 

 certain, viz., that he possessed unusual powers of 

 endurance in the saddle. Many accounts of the runs 

 with his hounds were published in 1873 by Mr. Randall, 

 F.G.S., who had an exceptional knowledge of Shrop- 

 shire and its county history. The time and distance 

 both sound miraculous to the ears of modern fox- 

 hunters ; but we must remember that hounds did not 

 run as fast as they do in these days. I have before me 

 a record of a run when hounds found their fox on the 

 Clee Hills, and ran through the Needle's Eye at the 

 Wrekin before accounting for their quarry. My readers 

 have only to glance at the map to see the distance which 



