Scarlet. 251 



then came one of Lord Stamford's, then three of Mr. 

 Meynell's, and he cared to count no longer. Before 

 very long he was made the hard-riding Jack Raven's 

 second whip, while Joe Harrison was first. Joe had 

 his work set him in the kennel, while Tom kept to the 

 stables, and beyond the fact that Mr. Meynell bred 

 very much from Lord Monson, and that the hounds 

 were " a lot of coarse close hunters," he cared to say 

 Httle for them. 



With the Bradley Wood fox,- on the The Bradley 

 contrary, he expressed the very deepest ^°°^ ^°^- 

 sympathy. It was his wont to break instantly at the 

 end of the wood, towards Ashbourne, and they as re- 

 gularly lost him at the end of a mile. At last they 

 discovered that he ran the top of a hedge, and Mr. 

 Meynell had five couple of hounds posted at that 

 point. He accordingly went away the next time 

 straight for the Peak of Derbyshire, and was lost near 

 Hopton. Mr. Meynell had gone home early, and as 

 Raven brought the hounds back to the kennel about 

 four o'clock, he opened his dressing-room window, and 

 ordered him to throw them into Bradley Wood once 

 more, as he had just seen the hunted fox steal back. 

 As to " the country people's story about a fox cross- 

 ing the road before the hearse as they brought him 

 from London," he " didn't believe a word of it ;" but 

 this he did know, that " Mr. Meynell never killed a 

 fox unhandsome, only that once." 



We had next a turn at Lord Sefton, Lord Sefton's 

 who put, according to Tom, much more Mastership. 

 fashion on the horses and the men at Quorn. The 

 green collar was kept, but the white metal buttons 

 yielded to gilt with the Sefton crest. Two huntsmen 

 then came on the scene, but his lordship did not 

 choose to discharge Stephen Goodall, who had just 

 had such a wonderful season with his hounds in Ox- 

 fordshire ; and hence it was amicably arranged that 

 Jack Raven should be head in the kennel, and take 



