THE HARROW COUNTRY 149 



country, but the hounds were not to go there if the ground 

 was wet. The first run we had over the Harrow country 

 was on December 23, 18()7. We met at Denham Court, and 

 had an excellent gallop over the grass, an hour and twenty 

 minutes, and took at Willesden. I well remember how well 

 poor Harry King rode to his hounds, over a stiff country 

 which had not been hunted over for nine years, and where 

 gaps were scarce. 



' On March 2, 1868, we had a meet at Denham Court. It 

 was late in the season, but the country was dry. The Prince 

 of Wales was out, and we had a remarkable run. From 

 Denham Court we ran past Pinner to the foot of Harrow 

 Hill. The deer went right up to the top of the hill, I believe, 

 passed through the churchyard, and down the other side of 

 the hill into what are called " Duckpuddle Fields," and 

 thence to Wormwood Scrubbs, where I well remember see- 

 ing the Due de Chartres, his horse bogged, with a wire fence 

 tw^isted round his legs. We took the deer at Paddington 

 Goods Station, and accompanied the Prince of Wales to 

 Marlborough House, riding through Hyde Park and down 

 Constitution Hill in hunting dress.' 



Lord Cork came back to the Buckhounds in January 

 1869. As the Harrow country was always forbidden fruit 

 after Christmas, it was not until the autumn of the same 

 year that Lord Cork was able to form an opinion of its 

 boasted merits from personal experience. He and Frank 

 Goodall had some capital fun over it, as the following 

 letters from Lord Cork, and a few extracts from Goodall's 

 well-kept journal, which he most kindly placed at my dis- 

 posal, will show. They have the value of being the testi- 

 monies and experiences of riding men in a riding country. 

 Goodall was quite undefeated over the biggest country in 

 England. When huntsman to Mr. Tailby he held the 

 position, in the estimation of those most competent to form 



