Kennion was a regular follower in those days. It is surprising how many churchmen, and eminent churchmen at that, have enjoyed the sport with the Eton Beagles. Three Bishops to-day, the Bishop of St. Albans, the Bishop of Bath and Wells, and the Bishop of Cape Town, were all keen followers at Eton. M. B. Furse, Bishop of St. Albans, was actually first whip in 1889, while the late Canon E. K. Douglas was one of the most successful of the early Masters. There is scarcely anything so pleasing as to see a parson taking his own line over a hunting country. They are few in number these sporting parsons, but very often they are the best sportsmen of all. In 1865 C. S. Newton was Master with R. F. Meysey-Thompson as his first whip and E. Royds as the second whip. Royds was a very good long-distance runner, and won both the Mile and the Steeplechase in 1865, while R. F. Meysey-Thompson was a good all round athlete. I have no records of this season at all, and so must pass it over without comment. The only thing we do know is that near the end of the Half the Oppidans ran a drag to Salt Hill and invited the Master and whips of the College Beagles. It was at this drag that the followers were regaled with champagne and sandwiches, a custom which had become a regular one. And here the amalgamation of the two School packs was proposed. But I will leave the account of this for another chapter. [Illustration: THE SORT OF DAY WE ALL KNOW.] CHAPTER II. THE COLLEGE HUNT. The College Hunt was founded in 1857 by R. H. Carter with J. A. Willis as his whip. It is a great misfortune that from this year until 1863, when the Journal Book was started, we know very little about it. Carter hunted them for no less than three years, which proves at least that he was an enthusiast. His pack consisted of all kinds of nondescript “dogs”; there was no standard of size, and report has it that it included a retriever. [Illustration: AN OLD-TIME BEAGLER.] The pack was kennelled by one Ward in the Playing Fields, and hunted drags chiefly, but also wild hares when they were found. Sometimes they turned out bagged rabbits. One thing however we do know. They made an agreement with the Oppidan pack somewhere about 1859 by which the Oppidans took the country west and the Collegers the country east of the Slough Road. The Hunt soon adopted a button with E.C.H. on it. There is a story of Provost Hawtrey arresting one of the whips in the Cloisters and demanding what the lettering on the button was intended to mean. The boy, aghast (for beagling was not allowed in those days), mentioned the letters E.C.H., whereupon the old man, who was not averse to personal flattery, took it to be a compliment to himself as they were his own initials. One of the runs of 1859 was actually recorded in _Bell’s Life_. As I have already noted in the previous chapter the Oppidans joined forces with the Collegers on three occasions, this being one of them.