SEASON 1872-73 55 



shire side of the country. Unfortunately the 

 weather was bad, and got worse as the day ad- 

 vanced. A fox found in Folkingham big gorse led 

 hounds over one of the worst lines of deep plough 

 country across to Heckington; so that His Royal 

 Highness abandoned the chase, and went to lunch 

 at Aswarby Hall with Sir Thomas Whichcote. 



A singular and terrible accident happened on 

 one of the latter days of March, when hounds 

 were hunting a fox in Belton Park. A blinding 

 snowstorm came on, and while Mr. Clark Cole 

 of Fulbeck was facing it, his horse jumped on one 

 side to avoid coming into collision with a tree, 

 pitched his rider against the trunk, killing him on 

 the spot. 



One of the best days of the season resulted 

 from Bottesford on a good scenting morning at 

 the end of March. The find was in Normanton 

 Little Covert, and hounds ran hard nearly to the 

 Debdales, crossed the Great Northern Railway 

 and the river Devon by Mussons Gorse, running 

 through Shipman's Plantation to Woolsthorpe 

 Wharf, where they pulled him down after a blazing 

 forty minutes. " I never saw hounds run a fox 

 harder," was the remark Frank set down against 

 the day, "and he turned short several times, but 

 they were able to turn equally short on his line." 

 A great run followed in the afternoon, lasting till 

 darkness set in, and only Mr. George Drummond 

 was left of the large field of the morning. This 

 keen sportsman, who had a fine stud of hunters 

 stabled at Grantham, was cousin to the Duke ; he 



