A SCURRY FROM HRAUNSTON GORSE 325 

 CHAPTER XLIX 



A \VI-:T scurry from HRAUXSTON GORSE 



You may weary of my oft - told tale — a gallop from 

 Braunston to Shuckburgh. Bear with me. It has in- 

 finite variety in event ; if not, by my shortcomings in 

 description. Yet I ask for no happier subject. 



Saturday's experience was certainly varied, perhaps 

 tortuous ; very tempestuous, undoubtedly delightful. As 

 such I endeavour to sketch it. Conditions of the day — 

 south-easterly squalls, and a determined rainfall. But the 

 glass scarcely moved, and perhaps this was the secret of 

 the scent and the pace. 



The Pytchley had met at Welton Place, a couple of 

 miles from the town of Daventry. On ordinary days — 

 fixture and date considered — there would have been a 

 great, perhaps a ponderous field. But Saturday, February 

 17th, from one point of view- was an extraordinarily dis- 

 agreeable day. The wind had turned to a cold quarter, 

 and the rain, for w-hich we have yearned these many 

 weeks, now drove pitilessly through everything but oil- 

 skin. So quite half of our crowd had stayed at home. 

 These may now learn how it fared with the rest, some 

 of whose names I here append : Lady Hesketh, Mrs. 

 Thornton, Mr. and ^Irs. Frank Thornton, Mrs. Blacklock, 

 Mrs. Osgood, ]\Irs. Whitehorn, Mrs. Graham, Mrs Locke- 

 King, Mr. and Miss Hanbury, Captain and Mrs. Allfrey, 

 Captain and Mrs. Pender, Mr., Mrs., and Misses Byass, Mr. 

 and Mrs. Cazenove, 'Sir. and Mrs. Clayton, Mr., Mrs., and 

 Misses Fenwick, Mr. and Miss Lowndes, Mr. and Miss 



Burton, Lords Braye and Cork, Count Larisch, Rev. 



Stevens, Major Blackburn, Captains Askwnth, Barry, Baird, 

 Close, Faber, Goulbm-n, Renton, Riddell, Soames, Smith, 

 Wheeler, ^L Duval, Messrs. Atherton, Adamthwaite, Adams, 

 Allen, Buchan, Beatty, Briton, Budd, Czarnikov, John 

 Cooper, Cox, Drage (2), Darby, Elwell. Noel Fenwick, 

 Fabling, J. Gee, Graham, Goodman, Hibbert, Kewley, 

 James, Knightley, Laurence, Levita, R. Loder, Miller, C. 



