MR. J. COUPLAND 341 



peting at a hound show, this time at Skipwirth-in- 

 Craven, under the auspices of the Yorkshire Agricultural 

 Society. The kennels represented were the Atherstone, 

 Bedale, Brocklesby, Burton, South Durham, Quorn, and 

 Lord Zetland's, but some of them scratched at the last 

 moment. The entries were smaller than usual ; but the 

 judges, Mr. John Hill of Thornton, and John Walker 

 (Sir Watkin Wynn's huntsman), awarded sundry prizes 

 to the Quorn — Governor, Woodman, Watchman, and 

 Wild Boy winning in the two couples of entered hounds 

 class. The Quorn Alice was the best unentered hound, 

 and the Quorn Rapid the best brood bitch. The cham- 

 pionship cup was given to Atherstone Somerset, but 

 many were of opinion that it should have been given to 

 Alice, who, by the way, was by the famous Alfred, out of 

 Dewdrop. 



In the spring of 1877 there was recorded from Melton 

 an instance of how ill-advisable it is to act upon impulse. 

 A noble lord who was hunting in the neighbourhood 

 came down at a bullfinch, but was luckily unhurt. His 

 horse, however, remained motionless, and was to all 

 appearance dead. The rider thought the animal had 

 broken its back, so a gun was sent for, and the horse 

 was shot. On a post-mortem examination being made, 

 however, it was discovered that he had sustained no 

 injury whatever, but was merely knocked out of time, 

 as the saying goes, and had the pin test been applied 

 the life of a valuable horse might have been saved. 



From a dead horse to a dyed one is but a step, and 

 another story was current in Melton. A lady was staying 

 at a house a few miles off, and discovered that her bottle 

 of aureoline, of which she made frequent use, had been 

 left behind by her maid. A groom was despatched to 

 fetch it, but unluckily he put it into his pocket, and 

 while riding home the bottle was broken; the "gilded 

 essence " flowed down one side of the mare he was 



