THE DUKE AS MASTER 



the ground. The three last nights we have had seven, eight, 

 and seven degrees of frost I hope now we shall speedily 

 have some rain, although there is not much indication of it at 

 present. 



"If you can manage to come and stir my cubs up on 

 Friday, the nth, I shall be very glad. I have no idea what 

 quantity we have of them. I saw a beautiful cub in some 

 turnips below the Osbournby field covert. 



" Mr. Chaplin's hounds were hunting at the Green Man 

 Plantation yesterday, and killed a brace of cubs. 



"On Monday, the 14th, I am going to Willey for a week. 

 My horses have not yet been out of a walk, neither would it 

 be prudent to allow them to get beyond that pace. The 

 hounds must be in much better form than the horses, 



" Mr. Borke Turner tells me he has no end of foxes. I 

 hope you will find them. 



" Thos. Whichcote. 



"P.S. — I was over at Syston a few days ago, and observed 

 in passing Ancaster Gorse a flight of rails had been taken 

 out, and a gentleman with gun in hand going through the 

 covert. Nowfoundland Gorse had had a camp of gipsies 

 under its covert. The gorse over the road opposite to it 

 looks healthy and well." 



Sir Thomas Whichcote writes about foxes for turning 

 down. 



" AswARBY Park, 



" September 2'jtk, 1868. 

 " Cooper, — 



" Now that we are likely to have a certain degree of 

 foothold in the country, I shall be glad to know your move- 

 ments. My stud are very impatient for the sight of the 

 pack ; one of the brutes broke away at exercise the other 

 morning and took a header over a wire fence. Fortunately 

 he was none the worse for it. We have had some splendid 

 rains ; at four o'clock this morning it came down in torrents. 

 When I found you could not manage to meet me at Lord 

 Wemyss' kennels, I gave up the idea of going there. You 



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