3 38 THE BEST OF THE FUN 



clear himself from hounds. They ran as if in view. 

 Reasons for scent are mere speculation ; as precedents 

 they only falsify themselves next day. But there were 

 present conditions that sound fairly plausible, viz. a glass 

 that had been steadily rising for a week, and now had 

 reached the topgallant mast ; an easterly direction in the 

 weathercock ; a dull, hazy atmosphere ; and the ground 

 well saturated beneath the surface. What mattered dry 

 roads and filmy fallows ? Hounds ran over the latter as 

 lightly as we scampered, and, like us, they revelled upon 

 the damp, sound turf, and made a day of it. 



While most of you who rode with the Pytchley are 

 sleeping, or, at worst, smoking upon its memory, I am 

 riding it over again in renewed delight, e'en though I dare 

 not hope to make the joy reciprocal. My theme, a one- 

 horse experience, as an open winter may fairly necessitate, 

 extends only over a period of three hours. But for my- 

 self, as I dare wager on behalf of scores of others, I would 

 rather those three hours than a whole month of summer 

 idleness. The straightest gallop of the season (five miles 

 from find to finish) was done in twenty-two minutes, and 

 was succeeded by forty-five minutes' hard running — first 

 fox to ground, second to death, 



A lawn meet had been held at Kilworth House ; and 

 Lord Spencer, to our gratification and, I may add, no 

 little to the advantage of the day, was able to take per- 

 sonal command. 



From Kilworth Sticks the first fox. He hung for 

 some time in covert. " Not the W^alton Holt customer," 

 spoke one who should know, (By the way, we owe Mr, 

 Fernie full gratitude for his courtesy, that on Monday he 

 forbore from disturbing the sanctuary his run fox had 

 obviously reached.) 



Five minutes later came the rush ; scarce any one at 

 first knew whither. My humble career as galloping cor- 

 respondent was all but cut short in the first hundred yards 

 by a newly dug drain. Recovered from this, with mud 

 and turf upon browband, I found hounds had apparently 

 escaped altogether from horn and signal, and were dash- 

 ing into the full medley of the left advance. Through 



