Scarlet. 355 



in four seasons. For three weeks in the wild weather 

 they could not kill a fox, except by chopping, and 

 then they went out twenty-one days, and killed 

 twenty-two foxes in succession. 



The days of Dick Knight, who spurned the lapstone 

 and the awl at Roade, for the horn and spurs, are 

 spoken of elsewhere ; and for the pleasant era of Lord 

 Althorp's mastership, we have those TheAithorp 

 quaint vellum-backed volumes of the late E^^- 

 Charles King's to fall back upon. It is well known 

 that Charles offered to ride, dance, play the fiddle, 

 and hunt a pack of hounds, against any man in the 

 Midland counties ; and to these he might have added 

 a fifth accomplishment, namely, keep a diary. 



In those days they had a much wider range of 

 Pytchlcy country, and generally began on July 26th, 

 and hunted up to the 3rd or 4th of May. No day 

 closed without his putting down the list of the hounds, 

 with observations. And very varied they are. 

 " Gouty shown symptoms of tongue" — " Syren rather 

 noisy" — " Plunder noisy at the fences" — " Glider (Fitz- 

 william) ran a hare to Byfield, and back to Charwelton 

 Spinneys." Then after the cheering announcement 

 that " the young hounds joined in the cry," it is can- 

 didly stated that they ran a cur and two greyhounds 

 half a mile down a lane. On November i8th, 18 16, 

 there was " still corn standing in Kilsby field ;" and 

 not long after " Young F." is gibbeted, as having 

 " dug out a fox, and sold him in Kettering Market." 



Crick had its origin about that time, ^^.j^^ 

 from the fact of a fox having been found 

 in a hedge-row, and being killed after a severe run in 

 Oxfordshire. When the cover had been made, they 

 went to it once a fortnight, and the horses were pre- 

 pared as if for a Derby. The fields were not so large 

 then, and the foxes better, and in fact there has not 

 been a great thing from it since the fifty minutes to 

 Naseby Reservoir in Mr. George Payne's day. Very 



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