HISTOEY OF THE LINLITHGOW 



hounds — Songster, President, Waverer, Rhymer, 

 and Furrier — were cut to pieces on the railway 

 which passes through the Haining wood near 

 Ahnond Castle, a tragedy which robbed a fair 

 day's sport of much of its enjoyment. These 

 accidents called forth the sympathy of the mem- 

 bers of the field who, feeling that the losses sus- 

 tained should not rest wholly with the masters, 

 spontaneously contributed towards replacing the 

 hounds killed and injured, and by doing so 

 pleased both Sir Hobert Usher and Mr Gillon. 

 But the calamities which occurred were not con- 

 fined to the pack, since on the 19th of January 

 Morgan received such bodily hurt in getting a fox 

 which hounds had killed in Williamston covert 

 out of it, that he was unable to be in his accus- 

 tomed place for a fortnight. During that time 

 Mr Gillon carried the horn and hunted hounds in 

 the quiet and sportsmanlike manner which might 

 have been expected of him ; and it was after two 

 hours and forty -five minutes' good work that he 

 killed his first fox from a fixture at Starlaw on 

 the 26th of January^ — a day which he is not 

 likely to forget. 



The last season of this mastership and the 

 last which falls within the compass of this history 

 was a disappointing one from the beginning. 

 Broken weather retarded the cutting of the grain 

 crop when that was ripe, and cub-hunting was 

 conducted under difficulties ; while the melancholy 



1 'The Scotsman,' 27th January 1909. 

 328 



