Mr. Thomas Smith. 1 1 9 



woods. By these means he kept so near him, that at 

 last he was able, by help of a halloo, to get close to 

 him in the swampy bottom behind Englefield Park, 

 whence the hounds took the matter into their own 

 hands, racing through the old deer park and village, 

 and pulling down the fox under the elm trees, in the 

 large open field (now taken into park) between Engle- 

 field House and Theale. But I well remember that 

 Mr. Smith thought it right to apologise for the feat 

 which he had performed, saying, ' I do not pretend, 

 gentlemen, that this is the best style of killing a fox ; 

 I can only say that if it had not been done in this 

 way, it could not have been done at all, on such a 

 day as this.' 



On one occasion, when Mr. Smith chanced to be out 

 with a celebrated pack in a distant country, the hounds, 

 when running hard with a sinking fox, suddenly threw 

 up in the middle of a field, in a manner which, I sup- 

 pose, indicated that the fox had been headed. The 

 master, who was hunting the hounds that day, in the 

 accidental absence of the huntsman, having made his 

 cast in vain, applied to Mr. Smith, as a great authority, 

 to say what should be done. Mr. Smith was at first 

 reluctant to interfere, but on the master repeating, 

 * You will do me a favour if you will only say what 

 you would do, if you were hunting the hounds at this 

 moment,' he said, ' Well, if you really wish me to say, 

 I should hold them along that hedge,' pointing out the 

 place. The master did so, and recovered and killed 

 his fox. This was told me by an eye-witness. 



It always struck me that Mr. Smith's readiness to 

 take large fences was one main cause of his success. 

 I do not mean when hounds were running ; for most 



