124 HUNTING REMINISCENCES 



day to come, enjoying excursions over the borders 

 of one another's country. 



Two good hunting runs fell to the lot of those 

 who joined the field at Leadenham on November 

 26th. Colonel John Reeves was one of those who 

 found foxes for both packs, his coverts being situ- 

 ated on the borders of the Blankney country. Both 

 gallops ended with a kill, and both commenced with 

 a thirty minutes' burst, ending with steady hunting. 

 The first, from Leadenham Hill -top Covert, was 

 away over the vale nearly to Wellingore by Brant 

 Broughton to Caythorpe, where he turned and was 

 finally killed at Fulbeck hill-top after running for 

 two hours. The next gallop was from California 

 Covert, hounds going away at racing pace to the 

 left of Bayard's Leap, Lord Bristol Plantation, nearly 

 to Dunsby Gorse, where they turned towards Blox- 

 holm. Gillard remarks in his diary, " We checked, 

 and a forward cast was in vain, so I held them 

 round to Pilkington's Plantation, where we re- 

 found our fox, and he made his way back through 

 Lord Bristol's Plantation to the starting - point 

 California Covert. We ran through the covert, 

 and two fields away from it hounds were at fault, 

 evidently having overrun their fox, for he jumped 

 up behind them and ran back into the covert, 

 where he puzzled them for some time, creeping 

 about in the briers. When he came to hand he 

 was a fine old dog, and had led the pack for one 

 hour and fifty minutes from find to finish." 



Many an amusing story is told of the old squire 

 of Leadenham, over whose lordship we have just 



