PERSONAL RECOLLECTIONS 



Coston covert, at which covert we shortly found a fine fox, 

 which went away in the direction of Buckminster, closely 

 pursued by the hounds. The pack got away with a good 

 start from the covert, but when they had gone about two 

 fields, they suddenly ceased to give tongue, and threw up 

 their heads, and began casting about. A labourer then 

 informed the huntsman that he had seen a tall man, who was 

 standing about with a gun close by, shoot the fox just in 

 front of the pack, and that he had concealed the carcase in a 

 hovel hard by. The Duke, who was close up at the time, 

 was informed of this, and immediately rode up to the man 

 with the gun, and accused him of having shot his fox, and 

 demanded that the dead animal should be given up to him 

 at once. On the man's declining to do so, and at the same 

 time placing his back against the door of the hovel, the Duke 

 signalled to his second horseman to come and hold his horse, 

 and got off him and went up to the offender, and again asked 

 him to give him his fox. On his again declining to do so, 

 he seized him round the waist, and tried to remove him from 

 the door of the hovel, and a short struggle took place between 

 the two, which ended in both rolling over, with the Duke on 

 the top. In the meantime, a Spanish count, who was a 

 spectator of the struggle, seeing that the farmer still retained 

 his gun, jumped off his horse and snatched the gun away 

 from him, for which he got some kudos, as the gun might 

 have gone off and caused an accident. The Duke, having 

 got the better of the tussle, jumped up quickly and opened 

 the door of the building, and took out the dead body of the 

 fox, which he handed over at once to the huntsman, and told 

 him to give it to the hounds, which was done immediately, 

 nearly the whole field being present by that time. The count 

 then came up to his Grace with the gun, and said to him, 

 " What shall I do with the gun, my Lord ? shall we shoot 

 him ? " (meaning the offender). This, of course, caused much 

 amusement, and shouts of " No ! no ! put the gun into a wet 

 ditch." The count seemed to have been much disappointed 

 at this, and remarked, " We should have made away with him 

 in my country." So ended the fox tragedy, and the hounds 



233 



