224 CAPT. Johnstone's hounds and country. 



hounds which he always had about the place. 

 He got a flying start with his fox, and rattled 

 him merrily along the beautiful country by Wyke- 

 ham, finally marking him to ground in Skirvill's 

 Wood near Forge Valley, a five mile jDoint. He 

 was well equipped for running, for he had scarcely 

 any clothing on but his night shirt and shoes, 

 and he must have cut rather a comical figure as 

 he plodded home after his undress rehearsal by 

 the light of the moon. 



Mr. Hill, the "young Squire Hill of Thornton," 

 whose deeds are the subject of the spirited but 

 somewhat lengthy hunting song of that name, 

 had hunted for some time with Mr. Darrell and 

 his colleagues, and somewhere about the beginning 

 of the century he took the hounds by request of 

 the country, and for the first time in the history 

 of the pack they were kept in kennel. The 

 kennels were at Thornton, and John Booth was 

 installed as huntsman, with Willy Hecklefield as 

 whip. 



Under the new management the pack soon 

 gained a high reputation, and became one of the 

 leading provincial packs in the country. Amongst 

 the field Mr. Osbaldestone was constantly found, 

 and the jealously which existed between the 

 master and him was of so strongly marked a 

 character, that it is still frequently spoken of by 

 the older inhabitants of the country. On one 

 occasion they were riding so jealous that they 



