80 England's oldest hunt. 



Most of Squire Bell's hounds, Mr. T. Clarke, that keen 

 hard-riding follower of the Hurworth, of Winton, tells me, 

 came from Sir Charles Slingsby, who in 1853 took the master- 

 ship of the York and Ainsty, and in consequence abandoned 

 his own private pack of harriers. The sad end of Sir Charles 

 and other followers of Yorkshire's crack pack, of which my 

 father was an eye-witness, is a familiar black page in Northern 

 hunting history. Tom Swalwell, who hunted Hambleton 

 hounds, was for many years in the service of the Bell family, 

 and died at a ripe age. When the Hunt was abandoned 

 the pack went to the Vale of White Horse. 



At this time, Bilsdale had only one or two hounds, 

 amongst which was, " Minister," actually belonging to the 

 pack. This hound was kept by Dawson. Regarding it he 

 told me a story. On one occasion he went to meet the 

 Sinnington at the high side of Helmsley, and took the in- 

 fallible Minister with him, as he invariably did wherever 

 he went. Scent was good, but they could not find a fox, 

 and made only very little music when they ran a drag. 

 To continue the narrative in the old man's words : |" Ah 

 teeak awd Minister mesell an' fan a fox iv a larl spinney. 

 T'gentlemen were capped, and they were mazed when 

 Minister killed it. Mr. Isherwood was t'maister then, and 

 Jack Paiker meead a great din, seea Ah sed £ Mun wa kill 

 anuther ? ' To which Jack ses, * Yes ! ' So Ah taks t'awd 

 dog an' finnds anuther and killed it wiv't t'Sinnington pack 

 all roond ma. Ivver after that them Sinnington hoonds wad 

 kill onny fox 'at gat up i' front on 'em." 



