BRIXDLEY'S WOOD RUN. 117 



distance from point to point could not have been 

 much less than fifteen miles, and as the hounds ran (it 

 was an exceptionally straight run), perhaps between 

 seventeen and eisjhteen. There was one sligrht check near 

 Chartley, and a longer one at Blithbury, and, so far as the 

 writer recollects, these were the only real checks during 

 the whole of the run. After the first five minutes the 

 entire gallop was in the Meynell country, the wind was in 

 the south-west, and the fox ran down wind the whole 

 way, and nearly the whole of the run was in the open, 

 the fox only just skirting a few small coverts. The 

 severity of the run was shown by the fact that Charles 

 Leedham's horse died the next day. The pace was always 

 good, and the scent, though not perhaps to be called a 

 burning scent, was good enough to satisfy every one 

 concerned, except, possibly, Reynard himself. 



It is to be noted as one of the very best March gallops 

 that most of us can remember, and but for the fact that it 

 ivas late in March, we should never have brought our 

 (quarry to book, for daylight would have failed. Any one 

 who will take the trouble to follow this run on the 

 Ordnance map, noting the places above named, will see at 

 once what an exceptionally good gallop this was. There 

 was not che slightest reason to suppose that we changed 

 foxes. The hounds and horses were about twenty-three 

 miles from the kennels when the finish came, and they did 

 not reach home till after eleven o'clock at night, all pretty 

 well tired out. Dickins rode a favourite bay mare, 

 Fannv, right through this run, and the Master rode 

 a good grey horse, Shylock, throughout, not being able 

 to get their second horses. We believe neither of these 

 animals was good for much afterwards. We observe that 

 ^Ir. Randall, in his Meynell book, quotes W. 8. Power as 

 describing this run as the best he ever saw, and we do not 

 think there is any exaggeration in this. To sum up the 

 special points of this fine run : we found late iu the day, 

 and were all the keener for a gallop ; it was an unusually 

 straight line over a good country ; the ground rode sound 



