SPORT ANCIENT AND MODERN 



especially on the northern and western sides, 

 the plough being principally on the eastern 

 side of the country. In short, within the 

 borders of the hunt, thick wood, deep grass, 

 light plough, and many large fences will be 

 found. Both nerve and science are re- 

 quired on the part of the rider, and speed and 



endurance on the part of the horse, if this 

 country is to be crossed in safety. The 

 enormous crowds which follow the Pytchley 

 on a Wednesday, however, are quite unknown 

 here. The little town of Towcester is fairly 

 well in the centre of the hunt, and all meets 

 can be reached therefrom. 



THE FITZWILLIAM HOUNDS 



These hounds have been in possession of 

 the Fitzwilliam family and have been known 

 by their name for a century and a half; 

 though the mastership has been held, tem- 

 porarily, by other members of the family — 

 and by three masters not connected with it — 

 the hounds have always been the property 

 of the owner of the Milton estates. For 

 120 years there were but three masters, all 

 Fitzwilliams, and practically only three hunts- 

 men ; John Clarke, the fourth, who succeeded 

 Dean in 1820, only remained a few months. 

 Earl Fitzwilliam, who was born in 1748, and 

 lived at Milton House, Peterborough, estab- 

 lished the hunt in 1769 by the purchase of a 

 pack from the famous Mr. Childe. The 

 huntsman was the well-known Will Dean, 

 who bred his hounds with so much care and 

 judgment that they acquired a great reputa- 

 tion, and influenced many of the kennels in 

 England. Dean kept a kennel-book, in which 

 he entered a complete list of the puppies bred. 

 This book must be one of the earliest stud- 

 books of hounds extant. At this time the 

 pack numbered 51^ couple of hounds, almost 

 exactly the same strength as the present pack. 



Lord Fitzwilliam kept a careful record of 

 his runs from 1789 to 1793. The following 

 extract, which is typical of many others, is 

 dated Monday, 9 November, 1789 : — 



Threw off at Ashton Wold, found many 

 foxes, ran well in covert J of an hour ; went 

 off at the Polbrook Corner to Kingsthorp 

 Coppice, ran very hard to the further corner 

 of the Coppice, skirted through it and con- 

 tinued running hard to Thurning field (the 

 wind favourable) then bore back downwind 

 into the Hemmington inclosures and through 

 the back of the village and past the farm 

 house and through the elm nursery, then 

 crossed the inclosures and past the patch of 

 furze in the open field and then again into 

 Ashton Wold (always going upon a tolerable 

 scent) killed in five minutes after it. i hour 

 5 minutes from finding ; behaved well. 



Old hounds. 



On 14 April, 1790, there was a good hunt 

 in heavy snow from Bedford Purlieus, the 



first ten minutes moderately and the last 

 twenty minutes very fast, ending in a kill. 

 In 1 83 1 cub-hunting began on I August, 

 and on 4 October hounds went by road to 

 Yorkshire, where they hunted for a month, 

 returning in time to commence the season at 

 Milton on 5 November. Sebright, the hunts- 

 man, writes that they 



Only missed four days from bad weather 

 the whole season. I dont recollect a w-orse 

 scenting season since I have been here, nor 

 less frost throughout the winter. Our foxes 

 were short on the Elton side, Orton side, 

 Ashton, and Lilford likewise. The Soak (sic) 

 was very little hunted from the scarsety of 

 foxes. 



Sebright kept a hunting diary from 1830 

 until 1837, when he gave it up. 



On 18 January, 1833, hounds met at the 

 kennels at Milton. After one run of fifteen 

 minutes they found another fox in Castor 

 Hanglands, and after ringing about killed him 

 in Castor Gorse in seventy minutes. Sebright 

 says : — 



The day hail'd by a grate many people to 

 witness the Sport of the field in which the 

 hounds dune themselves credit perticular in 

 their hunting which they were several times 

 brought to by the plough'd Lmds in which 

 they cross'd and the stile in which they kill'd 

 their Fox. 



On the death of Lord Fitzwilliam in Feb- 

 ruary, 1833J his son Charles William, the 

 fifth earl, succeeded to the estates at Milton, 

 and became master of the hounds. 



On 18 February, 1834, the hounds had a 

 good run, and killed their fox after a run of 

 fifty minutes, some part of which was very 

 fast. 



The hounds did their work in a most ad- 

 mirable stile making the most of a midling 

 scent which is perfection in a Pack of hounds 

 can but seldom be seen. 



Sebright died in September, 1861, and, like 

 his predecessor Dean, was buried in Thorpe 



373 



