1876—77.] FIRST FRUITS OF 1876. 169 



In a bend of tlie river Wreake, and hemmed in by the railway 

 crossing the neck of the isthmus, you would imagine that even 

 bold rejTiard would have but a poor chance of striking mto the 

 open from Burbage's Covert. But many and many a good run 

 has dated from here. It is a snug quarter that foxes favour 

 even from a distance, and where they know they are sure of 

 welcome and security. 



Hounds are scarcely in covert before a farmer and a rustic 

 are to be seen gesticulating on the hillside beyond the river. 

 They appear to be engaged more in disputing as to the identity 

 of some strange beast that has shown itself to them than bent 

 on attracting the attention of the hmitsman and his followers, 

 now penned up in the triangular field by the railwa}-. At 

 length some one ventures to suggest that a fox has been seen, 

 whereupon Gillard takes hold of the suggestion and his hounds 

 together, and gallops to the spot. True enough, a fox has 

 gone away as freely and readily as ma}' be ; but still again 

 there is some little delay, whip and bystanders disagreeing as 

 to the exact point of exit. Every minute at such tune is, as 

 we all know, a guinea's worth of profit or loss to the chances 

 of a run. Hounds spread keenly right and left, as if conscious 

 of the emergency ; and a skirmisher on the right, catching a 

 guiding whiff under the warm hedgerow, soon brings his 

 comrades to the line. Quickly they swing to the echo, and 

 the ball is now set rolling over the turf. There can be no 

 vigour about it yet ; for there are storm clouds hovering, the 

 ground is cold from the overnight's frost, and reynard has 

 made the most of his start. So field after field hounds start 

 and stop, dash off, and hesitate again, while men spm't here 

 and there in all the fluster of such initial moments, only to 

 have to pull up again just as their hearts are hardened, and 

 their horses in their stride. Hark hoUoa forward at the 

 Burton Tollbar, a mile ahead. This should put us on better 

 terms, and we burr}' eagerly up to the point to start afresh. 

 The pack now take it up merrily ; we try to believe that we are 

 in for a quick thing and a brilliant one, and scuttle up the 



