A Good Tmte at Rttgby. 2^1 



mare, the country being very stiff with some blind and 

 awkward fences. Coming to one of these, the Countess 

 Stockau gave me a lead, and as " Noblesse oblige/' 

 to give a new reading to an old phrase, I was bound 

 to follow. I found my nag as handy and clever as 

 could be, and had no hesitation afterwards in putting 

 her at any fence, large or small, that came in my 

 way. 



The scent, however, was cold, and the fox, not 

 liking the weather, gave us a ringing run around the 

 village of Crick and back to the cover we found him 

 in, where we could not do anything further with him. 

 Next we drew Winwick Warren, where, a view-halloa 

 was promptly heard, and away we went at a racing 

 pace running a ring round Thornby and back to 

 Winwick ; then, driving our fox from the cover again, 

 we ran him another ring over the same ground back 

 to Winwick Warren, where we lost him. During this 

 day I noticed how the men rode, and being myself on 

 the right side of the hedge for once in my life, I 

 could afford to pull up and be critical. The hounds 

 having turned sharp to the left, about a dozen fellows 

 charged in succession a tall, stiff-plashed hedge, with 

 a deep drop on the further side, a sort of thing that 

 there was no trifling with. It was no use craning, so 

 at it they went with a will, every one landing safe 

 and getting to hounds directly. After this the pack 

 went away to draw another cover, but, thinking I had 

 done enough with a five-year-old for one day, I turned 

 back and rode through the rain some eight or nine 

 miles, reaching Rugby thoroughly wet through. 



16 



