THE BILSDALE HUNT. 61 



fore, no wonder they have a doggerel verse pregnant with 

 its moral, which might be taken to heart by others as well 

 as those visiting our dales : — 



It'll save ya neea small trouble 



If when speakin' you tak care 



To woam ya speeak, of woam ya speak, 



An' hoo an' when an' where. 



To revert, however, to the Bells. George, Junr., spoke 

 in the highest praise of his father's capabilities with hounds. 

 From what he told me I gathered that it was not always 

 both of them could get away from the shop " ti gan hoontin'," 

 and not infrequently the younger George had to set off alone. 

 One day his father had one of the best runs " 'at ivver were 

 heeard tell on." Finding a fox on Carlton banks they ran 

 down into the low country by Crathorne on to Yarm. Skirt- 

 ing this interesting old-world town by the banks of the Tees, 

 with its charming old-fashioned gardens and posting-houses, 

 they went on nearly to Stockton, and ran into their quarry. 

 Vast excitement was caused by old Bell whooping and 

 holloaing all the way through Yarm. Here they asked how 

 far they were from Bilsdale. " Neea yan," said young 

 George, who told me the story, " lied ivver heeard o' Bilsdel, 

 seea wa gat summat ta eeat an' were hosses a bait, an' gat 

 on t'road fur Stowslay." He estimated this run at forty 

 miles, but I hardly fancy it would be much more than half 

 of this distance. The run goes to show that the moorland 

 fox, innocent of all so-called preservation, showed as wonderful 

 an amount of sport then as he does to-day. In due course, 

 as will be seen from the table of Masters of the Hunt given, 

 George, the younger, became Master of the Hunt with which 

 he had been connected so long. I knew the old man well. 

 He was not what one would at all expect him to be after 

 having heard of his prowess and enthusiasm in the field, and 

 in many ways was disappointing. He was reserved ; seemed 

 to be possessed of none of that unexhausted and unexhausti- 

 ble vitality which characterised his contemporaries. I 

 never heard him laugh, and it was with difficulty one got him 



