1831—82.] THE RIDERLESS RUN. 417 



ficent — and of it not a soul saw more than an odd mile, or so ! For 

 aboat an hour and five minutes hounds ran fiercely over a 

 beautiful countr}', virtuall}'- unaccompanied. You shall hear 

 how this hapi^ened — and then the bitter memory shall be buried 

 as soon as possible. 



You may remember how the weather changed with the end of 

 last week, how a deluge of rain fell on Sunday, and how Monday 

 broke with a cold drizzling fog, that drifted before a sluggish 

 east wind. AVe met at Widmerpool New Inn ; tramped the 

 slush of the old Fosse road to the Widmerpool coverts ; and 

 rolled through the sucking clay of the centre ride of Roelioe, 

 where no sound awakened the hollow wood but the blobbing of 

 hoofs and the huntsman's tuneful pleading that the gods would 

 give him a fox. It was not till the Home Wood was reached 

 that his appeal met with response. A holloa somewhere ; 

 hounds feathering and flashing in covert ; a lot of excited 

 mortals in the road ; " two foxes across into the laurels ; " and 

 then a merry blast as if the bellows of Vulcan were at play on 

 that battered bit of brass. Hounds stream into the laurels; 

 huntsman and half the field dash in after them ; Master and 

 the other half gallop round the drive, and enter the wire- 

 fenced park as the hounds swing out past Widmerpool HalL 

 The far side of the little park has its wire railing, and its iron 

 gate not to be opened hurriedl}'. Along the left runs a 

 chasmed stream, that is neither to be forded nor jumped ; but 

 as yet the driving pack is pointing parallel to this thrice 

 accursed gulf. Mr. Coupland appears to recognize the geo- 

 graphy and its dangers ; but not one of his hearers ever dreams 

 that his prophecy " If the}" cross the water Ave are done " can 

 be pregnant with such fatal truth ; and the party gallop on^ 

 hoping and trusting, either that tlie line may keep this nearer 

 side of tlie stream or that there yet may be a way across. 

 That the field of to-day held men who meant to ride to hounds, 

 and who could see an}' run that was to be seen, you shall 

 judge from among the following names — Mr. Coupland, Duke 

 of Portland, Lords Belper, Cloncurry, Newark, Counts Kiusky 



