SEASON 1893-94 263 



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sound, received an honourable pension to roam about 

 the kennel precincts, enjoying a day's sport when the 

 fixtures were near home, and not in big woods. 

 Of the young hounds Gillard pointed with pride on 

 a cubbing morning to Skylark, walking at his horse's 

 heels carrying a cub's mask. She was the daughter 

 of that promising stud hound Druid (1890) the son 

 of Shamrock and Diligent, pronounced by Mr. 

 Henry Chaplin, the Squire of Blankney, to be worth 

 1000. What a grand fellow he was symmetrical, 

 deep of girth, remarkable in neck and shoulders, even 

 in Belvoir kennel, nippy as a kitten, and good as 

 he looked. Unfortunately Druid died of inflamma- 

 tion this year, but he left five couple which were all 

 considered good enough to " put on," viz. Captive, 

 Costly, Dinah, Gainer, Guidance, Monarch, Render, 

 Romeo, Regal, and Skylark. 



A useful morning's work resulted at Leadenham, 

 though Frank remarked in his diary, " we killed too 

 many foxes, two and a half brace." The late duke 

 would always grumble when he heard of more than 

 a leash being killed in any one day's work, and 

 Gillard stood true to old precedent A brace were 

 first killed in Leadenham Hill -top Covert, and 

 another in California Covert, the fourth being a fine 

 old dog-fox quite eight years of age, and the last a 

 green cub started from Tiger Holt. Strange to say, 

 in his hurry to bolt through the first fence, he ran 

 his nose against a big flat stone with such force that 

 his neck was broken, and hounds had only to eat 

 him up. 



At Aswarby this season a new squire reigned, 



