194 FOX-HUNTING IN THE SHIRES 



these men with them, and in a short distance the 

 hounds had beaten even them. The huntsman, 

 Arthur Thatcher, one of the most gallant riders across 

 Leicestershire, and mounted on one of Mr, Hanbury's 

 good horses, could never reach them, the three fields 

 which hounds had gained in the few moments it 

 took him to disentangle himself from the covert 

 having given them a hopeless advantage. Two of 

 the other men, good as they were, were farther behind, 

 while a fourth, who started as well as any one, being 

 on a slow horse, was fairly distanced before the pack 

 threw up near the Coplow. 



Again, Mr. Fernie's hounds had on Friday, January 

 30, 1903, one of those magnificent runs that will 

 always make the season of 1902-3 memorable to those 

 who hunted in Leicestershire. 



The Master was unwilling to disturb Glooston 

 Wood, and the huntsman found his fox without 

 ever going into the covert at all. He touched the 

 horn, and a travelling fox boldly faced the open for 

 Loddington. The dog pack were laid on at once, 

 and within a single field they were 150 yards clear 

 of the horses. The turf was sound, and horses had 

 everything in their favour, yet hounds beat them 

 all the way to Keythorpe. 



Now in a case like this, only those men who started 

 close to the hounds would see anything of the fun 

 at all till the first check. If this check should come 

 at the end of but ten minutes at the best pace, you 

 will have thrown away the most delightful moments 

 of the day. Most likely you will have galloped very 

 fast, jumped several fences with the backs of the 

 leaders as your guide, only to find when you catch 

 sight of the pack that they are running as fast as 

 ever. A first-rate pack of hounds will have made 



