^^ Nimrod'' attd the Wilkinsons. 51 



" Mr. Wilkinson wished to see his hounds get well away 

 with their fox and therefore stood still and blew his horn ; but 

 he should have ridden on, and blown his horn ; for when we 

 got to the top of the covert, not a hound, except a few that 

 were with us, could we get sight of. ' I know where they are 

 gone,' said Mr. Wilkinson ; ' you must follow me, for we shall 

 never get over that stelL' I did follow him, and he took 

 me to an awkward ford ; but we might just as well have gone 

 round by York. The hounds had a capital run of an hour, 

 and killed their fox, but only in the presence of a chosen few, 

 who were bold enough and fortunate enough to get well over 

 this awkward stell, Billy Williamson,* I believe, being the first 

 to charge it. It was deep and rotten, and the change that was 

 affected in the colour of ci-devant white cords of those gentle- 

 men who dropped short of it, plainly showed what sort of 

 bottom it had. 



" Two things were now evident : I was quite sure they 

 were in for a run, and I was quite sure I should see nothing of 

 it unless let in by some lucky turn. I did not, however, quit 

 my pilot ; but, strange to say, I rode for exactly one hour fifty 

 yards behind him, without ever hearing the tongue of a hound 

 until within the last ten minutes. When we did get up to 

 them, the thing was over, the whoo-hoop was only wanting. 

 They had not tasted him, but he was dead beat, and in a few 

 minutes more Matty had him by the brush. It must have been 

 a beautiful run for those who saw it. The pace was excellent ; 

 and the country very good indeed for the provincials. 



" I had two reasons why I did not regret this wrong turn 

 at first starting. First, I and my horse might have been planted 



* Mr. Williamson succeeded Mr. Ralph Lambton (who was compelled to retire owing to a 

 severe accident) as Master of the Sedgefield country in 1838, and continued till 1842 when 

 the late Marquis of Londonderry took the pack, kennelled them at Wynyard, and styled 

 them " The Wynyard and South Durham Foxhounds." Mr. Williamson was later again 

 Master. 



