128 England's oldest hunt. 



he thought looked like suiting the hills, and which had a 

 good cry. One Bilsdale bitch, which he retained, bred some 

 excellent litters. He imported fresh blood, as in a measure 

 he was compelled to do, for the hounds he at first kennelled 

 commenced killing sheep, causing no end of trouble and 

 expense. They ran and killed several sheep in Bilsdale 

 itself prior to the regular season, and it was owing 



H. W. SELBY LOWNDES. 



to this that John Boyes, then of Castleton, who had 

 a small pack of hounds of his own with which he hunted a 

 part of the Farndale country, was consulted by Mr. Lowndes. 

 Boyes had a wide experience of moorland hunting, and of 

 everything connected with venery, and the Master of the 

 Bilsdale asked him if he could stop hounds from " sheeping " 

 when they had once commenced. Boyes answered in the 

 affirmative, and Mr. Lowndes asked what course he would 

 adopt : " I'd shoot everyone that looked at a sheep," was 

 the reply. At first, the M.F.H. did not care to adopt so 

 drastic a step, but finding he could not stop them, he secured 



