64 ^^''- T. Raper Wilkinson becomes Master. 



Right on to the dog and the fox down we came, 



And the latter caught me by a part I'll not name ; 



I struggled and kick'd, when, in the midst of the row, 



A nudge from my grey mare (5), with " what's matter now ? " 



Half waked me ; and then I cried out, with a stare. 



That greatly astonished the canny grey mare, 



" By Jove ! but our ' Pincher' is hard as a nail. 



Or your Peacock had lost the best part of his tail ; 



He's a real good bred 'un, a chis of the block, 



Or a fox had quite ruined your pretty Peacock." 



The early historian, whom I have already quoted, wrote 

 thus of Mr. Matthew Wilkinson : 



" At old Matther's death, in 1837* his nephew, Thomas 

 Raper, who took the name of Wilkinson, became master, and 

 held the post for twenty-four years. There is an excellent 

 picture of him in the possession of his widow, at Neasham, 

 painted by Ferneley, in 1846, mounted on a favourite horse, 

 ' The Squire,' in which there are also Frank Coates, with his 

 coat buttoned at the bottom ; of the two Hoppers, father and 

 son, the elder with his terrier, ' Tip.' I think this is the best 

 hunting picture I have ever seen. It is so full of life ; quite 

 worth going many miles to see. After Coates gave up, profes- 

 sional huntsmen came in vogue, which, as the subscription was 

 not a large one, was a drawback, and, although the general run 

 of sport fell off, still they had done extraordinary good runs, and 

 a fair succession of them, more especially from Deighton Whin, 

 Welbury, and Fighting Cocks. Frank Coates was succeeded 

 first by Robert Hecklefield [sic, Ecclefield), a good servant 

 who came from Mr. Hill, of Thornton, and who, I hear, went 

 to America to hunt hounds, then by Tom Salmon, who for 

 many years hunted Colonel Hildyard's harriers, at Stokesley. 



5. Mrs. Peacock. 



