Zbc Earls of ll)arborou0b 75 



big hounds had just begun to wane, and it received its 

 death-blow on the day that order was issued to the 

 celebrated kennels of Brocklesby. The earl was gifted 

 with an intuitive knowledge of the science of breeding. 

 He never seemed to make a mistake ; the fame of 

 the Brocklesby hounds rose under him to its zenith, and 

 he had a rare coadjutor in William Smith. That famous 

 huntsman, however, was guilty of some eccentricities 

 which might well make the hair of the orthodox ' to 

 stand on end, like quills upon the fretful porcupine.' 

 He was known once to turn out some of his hounds 

 clipped, and on another occasion took out a pack of 

 bitches all ' in season.' But, for all that, he was second 

 to none in England in knowledge of his business. It is 

 written of him that ' he was an excellent servant in the 

 field and the kennel. Well did he know how to breed, 

 feed, and hunt a pack of hounds. He was a person 

 highly educated, and a gentleman in manners, a good 

 horseman, universally liked, rode well, and was followed 

 for years by the finest tenantry in England, all horsemen, 

 all fox-preservers, all good fellows.' 



The manner of William Smith's death was tragic. On 

 the nth of April 1845, he was hunting near Barnoldby 

 le Beck. ' The hounds had checked, and Ranter hit the 

 scent. Will Smith in the act of cheering him, coming 

 to a small fence with a trifling ditch on the off-side, riding 

 carelessly at it, his horse put his foot into the ditch, and fell, 

 pitching him on his head and injuring his spine. He was 

 conveyed to the house of Mr Richard Naiseby, at Barnold 

 le Beck, under whose friendly roof he expired four days 

 after the event.' An obelisk was erected to his memory 

 on the spot where he fell, and inscribed thereon is a long 

 epitaph in verse from the pen of Sir Charles Anderson. 



