MR. WILLIAM TOMLINSON. I57 



Your Mother tells me you wish me to send you some particulars of a good 

 run with the Meynell Hounds over some of the same line as the grand run they 

 had from Brailsford Bridge last week (January, 1896). It is now nearly fifty years 

 since, so I cannot remember very accurately, but I well remember I was riding 

 " Modesty " to gather Income tax for Father, and had started as far as the Hall 

 Ground, when I met the Revd. Hugh Wood, Rector of Blore at that time, 

 coming galloping down the road. He said the hounds were here from 

 Kedleston, and immediately they came streaming towards us as we stood in the 

 road, and through the gate into Bather's ground. I followed them for the Jack 

 Fields. Hounds were making for the Limekiln Rough. The fox crossed the 

 (Henmore) brook, and went up the hill to the right of Hall Fields House and on 

 to Atlow Winn, crossed the road and went for Heaven Hill by the White House 

 beyond Kniveton. Mr. Meynell's hat was knocked oflF in going over a fence 

 under an oak tree, but he could not stay to pick it up, and Jack Leedham got oft' 

 his horse and picked it up, and shouted to Mr. Meynell to stop, for he should 

 never be able to catch him again. The hounds went through the Plantation 

 [probably Heaven Hill Wood] and I, knowing the country, was first over the 

 hill, and crossed the brook at Bradbourne mill. Hounds were racing their fox up 

 the Gorse Hill field, and then turned to the right for Shaw's farm and pulled the 

 fox down a little beyond Crakelow. Only a very small number were up at the 

 death. The pace had been very fast all the way from Kedleston. It was 

 considered the best run of that season. You see / only found them at Bradley, 

 and more than half the field gave up pursuit before they got to Atlow Winn. 

 Another most extraordinary run was from Ravensdale Park, Mugginton, by 

 Bradley, Atlow Winn, by Carsington, Hopton, Kirk Ireton, Biggin, and Hulland 

 Ward, when the fox was killed on his way back to where he started from. 

 Hounds were about half a mile before the horsemen when I foimd them at 

 Bradley in pursuit and no horsemen were with them, when the fox was killed 

 and eaten; and Mr. Sampson of Langley and myself took them to Kedleston 

 and had them put in their place at the Inn nearly an hour before the huntsman 

 and whips arrived. They had never been able to catch the hounds after 

 Bradley had been reached, and Sampson and I just happened to be fortunate in 

 taking the road to Callow to the right from Knockerdown. We never saw the 

 liounds after they got to Beeston's of Woodhead. When we got to Callow we 

 had given up all hope of getting to the hounds, when, seeing two men standing 

 on a wall near a stone quany, I said to Sampson, " Those men are looking 

 towards the Petty Wood. I wonder if they have heard or seen the hounds. I 

 will just go and ask them." They told me they had heard them, and they 

 thought they were coming towards us, as they could hear them better ; and, 

 strange to say, we stopd with our horses until the hounds came nearly to us, but 

 we had never seen the fox. So that was the cause of us two being the only 

 horsemen in the hunt. When I was coming away from Kedleston I met the 

 huntsman. I said to old Tom, "Where the deuce have you been to?" and he 

 replied, " We could never get anywhere near the hounds after they left Bradley." 



After leaving Hopton they had given up trying to get to them, and this 

 country was so difficult no horses could live with hounds. Stephen Sampson 

 often speaks of us two being Huntsman and whip and taking charge of the pack 

 to Kedleston.* Poor old Bob [a favourite hunter] galloped all the way up the 

 hill to Atlow Winn, and after we got to hounds went first-rate. Tom Smith of 



* This was on February 6th, 1869. 



