84 The Old Surrey Fox Hounds 



in the " Field," from which we cull the following 

 extracts : — 



" The Old Surrey Hounds met on Saturday last at 

 Down, a charming and picturesque village ever memorable 

 as being for many years the home of the late Mr. Darwin. 

 Sir John Lubbock's plantations were first drawn ; for a 

 wonder they failed on this occasion to supply the needful. 

 We then moved across to Holwood, the residence of the 

 Dowager Countess of Derby, where we drew the small 

 but never-failing covert Bushey Viners. We had not long 

 to wait, as hardly had Mr. Byron's hounds dashed into 

 covert when one of the best foxes that ever stood before 

 hounds was seen stealing away in the direction of High 

 Elms. The hounds immediately responded to ' view 

 holloa,' came crashing out of covert en masse, and quickly 

 took hold of the line ; then began one of the best sport- 

 ing runs, in my opinion, that have been witnessed in this 

 country for a long time past. There was all day a hold- 

 ing but never a blazing scent, and hounds had to make 

 good use of their noses every yard of the way. The fox 

 evidently knew all the haunts of his brethren on the line 

 he took, though he did not tarry for a moment at any one 

 of them, as he ran through Sow Wood, where the fields 

 were somewhat hampered by wire, unfortunately a too 

 common occurrence in these days, thence to Cudham 

 Thrift, onward over Westerham Hill, and down the valley 

 towards Westerham. Mud-bespattered men with sobbing 

 horses now began to realize that they were in for more 

 than an ordinary run, and some were here constrained to 



