212 THE SOLTH DEVON HUNT 



holloa. It happened that my mouth was full of plum 

 cake, which could not be disposed of for some 

 moments without a sacrifice of economy, so I appealed 

 to Dr. Collyns who, rightly enough, no doubt, from 

 his point of ^new, resolutely refused to help in the 

 killing of what he considered to be one of Mr. Bragg's 

 foxes. We did kill soon after, almost at the feet of 

 Mrs. Splatt who was walking alone in the Cleave, and 

 who, I remember, had taken advantage of the 

 sohtiide of the spot to let down her hair, which was 

 ver\' beautiful and reached almost to the ground. On 

 ^Mlitmo^e"s expressing a pohte wish that she had been 

 on horseback vsith us, Mrs. Splatt drew herself up with 

 the majestic air she was wont to assume when playing 

 Lady Macbeth and answered with crushing emphasis : 

 " / lumt with Mr. Bragg's hounds in this country." 



Meanwhile Bragg was deaf to all remonstrance and 

 no doubt beheved himself to be the aggrieved party. 

 He did. indeed, during Gaye's mastership offer to 

 draw a hne of definition : but it was to endure only 

 while the Doctor remained in office, and the boundarv' 

 suggested would have deprived the South Devon of 

 much of the best of the moor which it claimed as of 

 right. Anxious as were the members of the com- 

 mittee to effect an amicable settlement, they were 

 therefore unable to accept the terms offered. Eventu- 

 ally, in the year 1890. as stated, the dispute was 

 referred by consent to the M. F. H. Association. 



It may here not be out of place to point out the 

 law on the subject of acquiring a title to a new 

 country. By the imwxitten law of foxhunting, a 

 hunt can acquire a right to a particular country* only 

 by hunting it for twenty seasons consecutively 

 without interference or break, and without making 

 anv admission that it is held on loan from some other 



