CHRISTCHURCH HOUNDS.

Press, Volume LIV, Issue 9736, 26 May 1897, Page 3

CHRISTCHURCH HOUNDS.

The Queen's Birthday meet of the Christchurch Hounds was, .as usual, very well attended, from seventy to eighty being present at the.rendezvous, and two things went to make the.May a success, via., fine weather and a splendid lunch, provided by Mr C. Palairet;/ but 1 alas 1 one very necessary article .of x the day's prooeadrogs was of the scantiest, description, and that was the scent, .for a worse scenting day has hardly been experienced. On arriving at the place of meeting,. West Melton, it was found that there had not been a drop of the welcome . rain there, which had fallen in Christchurch and suburbs on Saturday night, the going, therefore, was ol: the very hardest description,'and a chsnd of dust enveloped both horees and. hounds- .when at work. Before lunch one or two' smart spins took place up wind, but with no satisfactory result. On resuming the game after lunch, Mr Lewis Mathias, who was on foot, offered to take the hounds to a hare which had been run hard but had escaped, owing to other hares getting up, and as there ia no better authority in Canterbury on the subject of a beater, tbe Master accepted his'offer, and on two hares getting up together the pack divided, about, two couple sticking to the beaten hare, whidh they soon killed, and the main body, being well away, it was. decided to let them go after their fresh quarry, which they ran pretty fast for soma twenty minutes, when she was killed. Another spin or two constituted <the day's doings. The country hunted over belonged to Messrs ActonAdams, Jefferies, B. Hayes and part of Mr Walker's, aud„to.those gentlemen are due the most hearty thanks of the Club, and also to Mr Palairet for providing the lunch, which went "a long 'way to make up for the lack of the sport generally enjoyed at West Meltons Amongst those out were :—Mesdames C. Dal gety, T. Bassett, Burrows, Woodhouse, W. Buckley, Ogle, J. D. Hall, Misses Palmer, Ronalds, Cowlishaw, -Fraser-Tytler, Bassett: (2), Burrows, Weatenra, Murray (2), Neave (2). Also driving and riding and going well were:—Miss Haydon, Misses K. and R. Gerard, Miss K. Wilson and Miss Palairet. As to the sterner sex there were present :—> Messrs W. Buckley, 3. Cotterill; Neave (2), Gerard, C. Dalgety, J. Palmer, Mathias (2), T. Bassett,, R. C. Wilson, Murray.(2), Cooney, Welbourn, Hayes, Burnett, FraserTytler, Beauchamp Lane, G. Gould, Turr_l (2), Cowlishaw, J. D. Hall, H. Beawicfc, Overton, Ford (2), Ballantyne (2).