1870—71.] LAST QUORN MONDAY, 1871. 29 



on the part of Mr. Coupland and his men. The Prince stayed as 

 long as there was any hope of another gallop, returning to 

 London with his suite by the 6.40 train ; and 'tis to be hoped 

 that the reminiscences he carried away were at least pleasant 

 enough to induce him to let us see him ere long again in 

 Leicestershire. 



LAST QUORN MONDAY OF 1871. 



A FEW welcome thunder showers on Sunday, March 26th, 

 washed the dusty face of the country wonderfully. The ground 

 underneath was still in pretty fair order, though, true, the turf 

 was beginning to rattle noisily on the landing side of the 

 fences; but a little moisture on the top was most needed, and 

 its advent was just in time to give a character to the last 

 <5uorn Monday of the season. 



Thus, on Monday, March 27th, twelve o'clock found all Quorn 

 proper at Six Hills — a meet whose name is as ultimately con- 

 nected with cold and piercing winds as it is with good sport. 

 To-day was no exception, for the weathercock had gone clean 

 to the right-about; a strong north-easter almost turned the 

 carriages into refrigerators, made one sit on one's fingers, and 

 set one to think if one's hat string was sound. But a fine day's 

 amusement made amends for all minor failings, though it sent 

 one home in a state of mind in which present satisfaction was 

 fighting hard against the feeling of sorrow that such good fun 

 could be looked for so little longer. Horses' coats had ah-eady 

 a patched and pai-ti-coloured apjjearance — the autumnal tints of 

 the waning season — and more than one good set of joints bore 

 a foreign and pudding-like look, lending credibility to floating 

 rumours that the trying work of the past month has put more 

 than one strong stable literally on its last legs. 



Our old friend was waiting for us at Cossington Gorse ; and 

 it seemed hard indeed that his gallant efforts in the Prince's 

 cause should meet with so little gi-atitudc, but that almost 



