23: 



THE BEST OF THE FUN 



ever was known in March, this being the first day of a 

 month usually associated with dust and hard ground. 

 Perhaps (forgive my ignorance if the speculation be a 

 wild one) this may be the turn of March hares rather than 

 of kings' ransoms. I am no politician, so I give it up. 



This I can tell you, viz. that the killing of that fox 

 from Crick Gorse was a wonderful and truly creditable 

 performance on the part of Goodall and the Pytchley little 

 pack. A hunt of two hours and forty minutes, of which 

 we rode perhaps those forty with keen pleasure, and 

 watched the rest with gradually intensified interest and 

 admiration. We went over so much ground that I am 

 fain to glance at my map for instruction. I find we ran 

 a point of nine miles and a half, counting Hilmorton Gorse 

 and Tallyho Covert as the extremes ; and, furthermore, it 

 is on this occasion safe to affirm that one and the same 

 fox took us the whole distance. How do we know ? 

 Because he bore a peculiar and meagre brush, more like 

 a spike than a flag ; and he himself, like many a long- 

 running fox, was mean and indifferent to look upon. 



We had the .usual rush from Crick Gorse to that of 

 Hilmorton, a mile or so away across the flat, wet 

 pastures ; then a ten minutes' w^ait while the little 

 traveller tried to shake himself clear. He got away at 

 last, and took us hotly towards Kilsby, the natural con- 

 sequence being that any visitor who was out (1 may 

 venture to instance Lord Fingal) would see more barbed 

 wire than we might otherwise have been able to show them 

 in a month. Once clear of this, there was better country 

 to cross in the Watford direction : and the first serious 

 check ensued close to West Haddon. Hunting on, 

 hounds worked nearer their fox at Winwick Warren ; but 

 he was still on, and they picked his line out, sometimes 

 with difficulty, sometimes with greater vigour, past the 

 covert of Firetail and the villages of Cold Ashby and 

 Naseby, till they ran right up to him at Tallyho and 

 pinned him directly they entered the covert. 



The previous week had wound up icily, yet not without 

 warming sport and varied incident. I find the days 

 entered thus : — 



1 



