THE REV. JOHN RUSSELL. 149 



were made by the farmers to arrange the meets 

 so as not to interfere with Tavistock market ; 

 and a sale of stock was not exactly put off, but 

 the advertisement of it was once delayed until 

 after the Russell fortnight." 



These were the Bodmin Meetings, one of 

 the chief promoters of which was that excellent 

 sportsman, the Rev. Pomeroy Gilbert, of Bodmin 

 Priory ; for he it was who secured Russell as 

 his guest, whose kennels and stables were placed 

 entirely at his disposal, and whose influence, 

 had Russell needed it, would have been amply 

 sufficient to insure for him a hearty reception 

 throughout that land. At Pencarrow, too, though 

 Sir William Molesworth was not yet of age, 

 friends assembled from afar, till the house was 

 filled to the rafters ; stalls for two horses being 

 allotted to each guest ; and the kennels, when 

 required, to the use of Russell's hounds. 



The country houses, in fact, vied with each 

 other in the warmth and extent of their hospi- 

 talities, insomuch that the old-fashioned sign 

 of the w^ayside inn might have been aptly hung 

 over their own doors : " Good entertainment 

 here for man and horse." 



A memorable day was the i6th of February, 

 1829, when Russell found three foxes together 

 in Deviock Wood, near Bodmin, and killed all 

 three before the sun set on Brownwilly tors. A 

 brace broke cover at once, going away, like a 



