1890] ME. WILLIAM FAIEBROTHEE. 205 



Mr. William Fairbrother was born at Burton Dassett 

 on the same farm occupied by liis father and grandfather, 

 and now by himself. He commenced hunting in November, 

 1841, when eight years old, and was in at the death of a 

 fox which ran by Old Leys and Kineton Holt to Pillerton. 

 Mr. Barnard gave him the brush, and he was blooded by 

 Ned Stevens. His father and grandfather were salesmen 

 as well as graziers, and they used to ride to Smithfield 

 Market and back on the same horse. They rode little 

 horses — 14.3 to 15 hands — mostly bred in Wales, with 

 wonderfully good legs and feet and knee action. For 

 thirty years his grandfather rode to London — eighty-two 

 miles — on the Saturday, sold his beasts on the Monday, 

 and back the same day, and very often hunted with Sir 

 Thomas Mostyn the next day. Once he rode 120 miles 

 in one day, and meant to ride thirty more on the same 

 horse. One day he rode to London on the Sunday, back 

 on Monday, and the same mare helped to draw two loads 

 of hay home. Mr. William Fairbrother joined his father 

 in 1854, who died in 1866, aged GG. There were bad times 

 for graziers in '49, '50, and '51. Wonderful cattle were 

 bought for 13/., which weighed seventeen score when fat. 

 They were mostly beasts that had been worked. Many 

 times he has given 25/. for beasts no better. He once sent 

 Mr. Hugh Williams, for a first meet at Kineton, a spiced 

 round from one of these beasts which weighed over 801b. 

 Nearly every yeoman farmer hunted then, kept a nag, and 

 participated in the sport. The non-hunting farmer was an 

 exception. From 1847 Mr. Fairbrother began to hunt 

 regularly, and has always had a horse or two since. He 

 has sold many good horses. About the best was a horse 

 by Hurrah out of Honeycomb, sold to Mr. Holland Corbett ; 

 a chesnut horse, sold to the same gentleman for the hunts- 

 man of the Quorn ; and a dun horse, sold to Mr. Corbett 

 for Mr. Wilson, the master of the Holderness, who refused 

 600/. for him. 



When he began, very few ladies hunted — Mrs. Drake, 

 Miss Annesley, and one or two more at most. The best 



