HISTORY OF THE LINLITHGOW 



for he was not only a first-class hunting hound, 

 but a good stud dog, — getting better puppies than 

 himself, and all of them workers.^ 



In 1898 Will Orvis had been succeeded as first 

 whipper-in by Tom Hall, who it was said owed 

 his place mainly to the promptitude and activity 

 which he displayed in the putting away of a fox 

 from a tree on the western shore at Hopetoun, 

 the day he came on trial from the South Durham. 

 However that may have been, he proved himself 

 a capable whipper-in, and one day in January 

 1899, when Cotesworth was unwell and he had 

 the good fortune to hunt hounds, acquitted himself 

 most creditably, showing a nice hunt from the 

 Wilderness at Craigbinning to Auldcathie, where 

 a want of scent in covert alone prevented him 

 from accounting for his fox. After turning hounds 

 to Cotesworth for two seasons he became hunts- 

 man to the Flint and Denbigh, but now returned 

 to Golfhall to fill the vacancy caused by Cotes- 

 worth's retirement. His knowledge of the country 

 and the experience which he had gained in Wales 

 stood him in good stead, and during the time he 

 was huntsman he showed very fair sport. Although 

 the country did not lend itself then in any greater 

 degree than it does now to the straight running of 

 its foxes, rather more than an average number of 

 hunts with good points was effected in the season 

 of 1904. On the 15th of November hounds ran 

 from Westwood to Harry's muir near Pumpher- 



^ Letter from Cotesworth to the author, dated 16th December 1909. 



312 



