182 MEMORIES OF THE SHIRES 



killed their fox. The same pack had also a very 

 good day on the succeeding Wednesday. 



A fox from Burbidge's took a nice line J to 

 Kirby Park, and returning by Great Dalby was 

 eventually lost near Wild's Lodge. 



In the afternoon there was a still further hunt. 

 A fox found in Freeby Spinney went first of all to 

 Stapleford Park, and then fearing to cross the river 

 again followed its banks until he had passed Melton. 

 Hounds were allowed to do their work without any 

 assistance, when we had the satisfaction and rather 

 unusual experience of seeing them hunt up to 

 within a hundred yards of their fox, and catching 

 a view race into him. Walter Kyte finished with 

 this season his short occupation of the post of 

 huntsman to the Quorn. No man had ever before 

 been pitchforked into hunting a fashionable pack 

 of hounds without some previous experience in 

 kennel and the field. Considering his limited ex- 

 perience, I think he was extraordinarily successful. 

 The knowledge he had acquired was from watching 

 Tom Firr, whilst riding second-horse to that artist. 



He was naturally a good horseman, and, with 

 no fear of the fences, was always in the same field 

 with his hounds. I thought in this his last season, 

 that he felt he was being rather severely criticized, 

 and thus lost confidence ; but when he knew he 

 was leaving, he did not worry about what people 

 might be saying, with the result that he killed 

 nearly every fox he found. 



Season 1902-1903 

 This was Tom Bishopp's first season with the 



