Dick Christians Le^ire. 359 



We met at Segrave ; there was a fox which lay about 

 there, and had been hunted for two seasons by The 

 Squire ; somehow they never could touch him ; the 

 Melton gentlemen christened him Perpetual Motion, 

 for one reason he used to tire all their nags, time 

 after time, on the Segrave meet. It was a great trial 

 for Tom ; he drew Segrave Gorse without finding ; 

 the next for drawing was Shoby Scholes, a favourite 

 spot of this Perpetual Motion. Tom cautioned his 

 whippers-in, and got such a start with him from the 

 Reed pond that proved his death-blow. He was as 

 anxious as the hounds was Tom, and when he saw my 

 gentleman fly out of the Reeds, his spurs was very 

 sharply in his horse's side and over a flight of large 

 rails, with his hounds close at his heels, and close to 

 his brush he laid them on too. The pace was as quick 

 as the hounds could run, and as much as the horses 

 could do to live in sight of the Melton Spinney ; 

 thirty minutes, without the slightest check ; there was 

 very few with the hounds up to the Spinney ; nearly 

 all of 'em shied the rails ; after hunting their fox out 

 of Melton Spinney, which stopped 'em a bit, up came 

 a few gents with Sir James Musgrave, their nags 

 puffing and sweating ; the hounds, you see, marked 

 his line through the horses, over the plough. Tom 

 lost no time in making his cast, which proved success- 

 ful, for he had no other to make ; Egad ! the old boy 

 wouldn't be beat out of his regular line; right 

 through the next fence, close by an old man at work, 

 who never saw him ; from Melton Spinney he took 

 a direct line to Garthorpe, and the hounds killed him 

 on the grounds called the Lings one hour and 

 twenty minutes, about 14 miles. The finish was an 

 uncommon cheery one ; the fox was cut into so many 

 pieces, the hounds had but a small share ; Tommy 

 Henton, he had his share of him mounted for a 

 tooth-picker with silver ; it is no doubt in the family 

 now. 



