156 THE SOUTH DEVON HUNT 



beginning of the regular season to produce a hound 

 list giving the names of twenty-six couple and a half. 

 These consisted of presents from Mr. Hey wood Lons- 

 dale and Lord Portman, and of purchases from Sir 

 Bache Cunard, Mr. W. R. Corbett, the Dartmoor, 

 Mr. Garth, Lord Galway, Mr. Lindsell and the West 

 Somerset. A present of three couple from the Duke 

 of Beaufort brought the total up to twenty-nine 

 couple and a half. Then, on the 12th November, 

 Lord Haldon, who had evidently thought better of 

 it, sent his pack to Oxton, and these, with a couple 

 and a half presented to Mr. Studd by Lord Zetland, 

 formed the subject of a supplemental hound list and 

 brought the total strength up to fifty-two couple and 

 a half. This enabled the master to pick and choose, 

 and by Christmas the number was reduced by 

 weeding out to thirty-five couple. 



Mr. Studd at this time was in active practice as 

 a barrister in London, and was consequently a good 

 deal away from home during this and the succeeding 

 seasons. Yet a man of his active nature thought 

 nothing of running down from town by an evening 

 train, hunting the following day and returning that 

 evening to London. This, when he came later on to 

 hunt the pack himself, would have been too great a 

 strain for most men, but he made nothing of it. 



He does not consider the season 1886-7 to have 

 been a good one ; and yet this can only be con- 

 sidered relative, for there were many good runs. 

 That from Netton Cleave, Canonteign, on the 11th 

 November was over a very unusual line, the fox 

 going away towards Lustleigh, and crossing the 

 railway and the river Teign into Houndtor Wood, 

 whence he ran through Yarner to Rora and got to 

 ground in Ilsington Town Wood. On the 23rd of the 



