SIR WALTER PALK CAREW, BART. 5T 



with all the sportsmen of front rank in his day. 

 Especially intimate was he with the Hon. Newton 

 Fellowes (afterwards the fourth Earl of Portsmouth), 

 and frequent were the visits he paid with his pack to 

 Eggesford to take part in the Chumleigh meetings. ^ 

 Great sport sometimes fell to his lot in North Devon. 

 For instance, meeting at Rackenford on February 18th, 

 1832, the last day of that particular meeting, which 

 had begun on the 28th January, Sir Walter describes 

 how at the end of a good run the fox was viewed not 

 a hundred yards before the hounds. 



" And," he says, *' they most decidedly killed, but, 

 it being nearly dark, and every person being done 

 but Hole, Beal and myself, we could not live with 

 hounds or find any part of the fox. Every horse in 

 the field beat to a standstill. A large field at meeting." 

 He then remarks : " This was the best week's sport 

 I ever witnessed, three of the runs being perfect." 



One cannot help thinking this must have been the 

 occasion referred to by Charles Trelawny^ when 



" With Russell and Carew's hounds, in twelve 

 consecutive hunting days, the shortest runs were 

 twelve miles from point to point as the crow flies." 



On another occasion in North Devon, in January, 

 1835, Sir Walter speaks of finding " the old Collaton 

 fox which had beaten Russell three times. Had a 

 good run and lost." 



It was from Eggesford, too, that occurred on the 

 6th December, 1839, what Sir Walter describes as one 

 of the finest runs he ever saw. Here is his note of 

 the day : 



" At Lapford Forches. Found directly ; killed. 

 Found again in the Lapford covers. Went awaj^ to 

 Lee, nearly to Thelbridge Cross, by the Black Dog 



^ See ante, p, 30. * Life of the Rev. J. Russell, p. 240. 



