MR. J. COUPLAND 319 



dicular bank, and gratefully shook himself on the other 

 side ; but the author of the " Cream of Leicestershire " 

 does not say who the "gentleman in black" was. It 

 may be stated here, however, that this adventurous 

 horseman was none other than the gallant captain him- 

 self. He, like Lord Panmure or Mr. Stanhope, which- 

 ever it was, had the hounds all to himself, while the field 

 went to seek for a bridge. The captain swam the river 

 by the mill, and terribly frightened the miller, who, 

 when asked by some one else, "What did you think of 

 the feat, my good miller?" replied, "Why, I just stood 

 stock still and never said a word, thinking he would be 

 drowned." In the Shropshire country the Severn has 

 been swum by more than one person, one of the ad- 

 venturous spirits being Sir Richard Green Price, who, 

 under the name of " Borderer," is well known to many 

 hunting men outside his own country — Shropshire. 



At the end of Mr. Coupland's first season he began 

 the practice, which he subsequently continued, of selling 

 his horses at the end of each season. His first sale 

 took place in May 1871, and the horses were voted an 

 exceedingly workmanlike lot. Indeed, Mr. Coupland 

 said that half of the stud was too good for the forest 

 work. Some of the horses went cheaply enough, but 

 the highest price was 300 guineas, thirty-five hunters 

 and four hacks being sold for a total of 4300 guineas. 



Just before the sale took place the Ouorn had a very 

 oood run with a fox, which led them into the Belvoir 

 country, and when the Duke of Rutland next greeted 

 the Ouorn contingent at Denton, his remark on the 

 previous day's sport was, "So I hear you rode over 

 all my best country yesterday morning, went back to 

 Melton to luncheon, and rode over the hounds all the 

 afternoon." The chronicler stated that the duke was 

 not far wrong. 



The Prince of Wales had, a year or two before, 



