With the North Warwickshire. 261 



the old Grand Military Course ; here there were many 

 who came " muchly ^^ to grief, Mr. Craven's mare 

 unfortunately breaking her back. Then away they 

 race in the direction of Major Furnely's Farm, running 

 over the allotment gardens, and away across the 

 railway, straight over Mr. Darby's Model Farm and 

 the turnpike road, and making at a rattling pace for 

 Onley Ground, and from thence up to Kilsby, where 

 the hounds ran into their fox after a capital run of 

 forty- five minutes. 



Some part of the run was over a brilliant line of 

 country, with plenty of big fences, and large grass 

 fields, over which I had the felicity of being carried at 

 a racing pace by the most perfect horse I have ridden 

 for years ; and I have yet to learn that there is a 

 pleasure greater than that of being carried well up to 

 hounds over a fine grass country for forty or fifty 

 minutes on a temperate animal, on which you have 

 only to sit down and let him go straight as a die, 

 crossing ridge and furrow without a blunder ; galloping 

 over the hillocks which abound in some of these old 

 pastures, and which are a caution to a clumsy goer, 

 without putting his foot wrong, and taking his fences 

 as they come, with as much regularity and precision as 

 an old maid does her five o'clock tea. After this we 

 travelled back to Belton Grange, where we found our 

 second fox, and ran him a rasper to the Rains Brook, 

 where no end of men came to grief; thence away 

 over the canal to the top of Barby Hill, where we 

 came to a check, after which, the scent being bad, we 

 had to hunt our fox slowly for a while, but a view 

 halloa ! being heard near Ashby St. Ledgers, Wheat- 

 ley lifted his hounds, and speedily ran his fox to 



