Dick Christian again. 2 1 



bleeding badly, though. Just lead the horse, and I'll 

 get to this pond, and get you to give me a bit of a 

 rub-down. It's a bad job trying these short cuts, 

 except you're on a horse ; we must keep it snug when 

 we gets to Melton. 



We'll be right now; I'm for leaving the road no 

 more. Sing'lar thing, wasn't it, we Ashby Pasture 

 should have had that tumble together } and Thorpe Trus- 

 I'm always in for them things. Barkby ^^^^^• 

 Holt's too far for us to touch at ; you can just see it 

 through yonder, if you stand up ; but it's such a deuce 

 of a misty day, with all this heat. That line of trees 

 is Cream Gorse ; now we're straight for Ashby Pas- 

 ture. Aye ! it's quite a wood ! People see those 

 pictures, and they fancy it's a bit of a gorse. Pretty 

 place this Thorpe Trussells ; it looks quite like a 

 flower-garden now ; don't it } How sweet the roses 

 and honeysuckles smell ! Take the reins. I must just 

 step out, and get a bunch for my old woman ; she's 

 such a one for flowers — the house is chock-full of 

 them. Mr. Greene, he was wonderful fond of Thorpe 

 Trussells ; some clipping runs he had from it. I 

 wasn't in the country when he was master. He 

 showed 'em some rare sport — never finer, they tell 

 me — and only a scratch pack to begin with. Tom 

 Day handled them wonderful. We're at Gartree Hill 

 now. Mr. Osbaldeston's fox lived here ; he was a 

 dark-coloured one ; most of the great runs I've seen 

 have been with them sort. He always came out 

 reg'lar at one point, and gave *em ten miles of it 

 through Leesthorpe, Cold Overton to the right ; they 

 lost him in Branson Field — Oakham Pastures that was. 

 They never could make him out ; he must have got into 

 some drain they didn't know of 



That's Buttermilk Hill, and Burrow Hills over to 

 the right, where Lord Cardigan and Lord Gardner 

 had the match I told you of It's as flat as a race- 

 course on the other side. Lord Suffield's had a grand 



