SEASON 1892-93 259 



a big unjumpable drain at the finish, watching a 

 beaten fox die gamely, and so fierce were the pack 

 for blood after running one hour and forty minutes, 

 that they worried the brush and mask before any 

 one could get to them. Gillard remarked in his 

 diary, " I never saw hounds run more freely or fast 

 over a fine line of country with such unchecked, 

 unaltered pace." 



During March the rain register was 0'63, none 

 falling for a period of twenty days, comparing with 

 the March of 1878, 1880, and 1885. On the 10th 

 a nice spin resulted with an outlier viewed by 

 Humby Wood, and he went by Humby and 

 Ropsley, turning back to a well-known fox drain 

 made by Mr. " Banker " Hardy near to Ingoldsby. 

 Being ejected from his hiding-place, he made straight 

 for Lenton brook, and the first over was the top 

 weight, Mr. Joseph Wilders, riding a powerful bay 

 horse. Others who jumped the brook successfully 

 were Mr. E. Lubbock, the four Miss Heathcotes, Mr. 

 Measures, Mr. A. Pick, and Mr. Bernard Casswell. 

 Those who were unfortunate to get in were Mr. 

 T. Heathcote, Mr. S. K. Marsland, and the Rev. 

 J. P. Seabrooke, but there was plenty of time to 

 get out again, for the hunted one sought the refuge 

 of a rabbit warren on the opposite bank. 



The experiences of March 17th, after meeting at 

 Keisby, revived the memories of a similar day's 

 sport, thirty years previous, when Cooper was 

 huntsman. The run on both occasions was down 

 to Haconby Fen, and Gillard had never followed a 

 fox there since the days he turned hounds to 



