First Whipper-in. 149 



tion, over the Stockton road into Layton Lings, and on to 

 Crawford's plantation, Flat wood, Hambletonian Park, Ful- 

 thorpe Road, Bottle Hill, to Bluestone Mill, Viewley Hill 

 and Billingham Beck, close to Norton Ironworks, where he 

 got to ground in some old flues. Sir 'William went like a 

 bird in this run, but I cannot remember the name of the 

 gentleman who came with him and did not fare so well. He 

 will have a tender feeling for Bishopton Beck, for he went 

 plump into it, and got well mixed up with mud and water, not 

 far from Stillington, after we'd passed the Ironworks; there 

 were three or four more in the beck at the time, and some 

 of them had to be dragged out, if I remember rightly, with 

 a little help, a good deal of hard pulling, and probably 

 swearing, too ! 



Shortly after this, on January 5th, 1880, we had perhaps 

 the best run for clean find and finish, point and pace, that 

 it was my lot to see in the country ; at any rate it is a run 

 that is spoken of by those who were in it, more often (or 

 at least used to be) than any that I can call to mind ; it is 

 generally called the Elton to Neseless run, and was a good 

 point of just over eight miles on the ordnance map. In the 

 morning, we had a nice burst with a fox from Oxeye to 

 Clement's whin (very fast), and then slow hunting back to 

 Oxeye, the foot people heading him a lot, and killed him at 

 Oxeye after forty-five minutes. Hounds were then put into 

 Elton whin, and were just being drawn out when a fox 

 jumped up on the west side of the whin, from under Lord 

 Henry Vane Tempest's horse's feet ; at once the pace was 

 a cracker, as we got a capital start with him, and drove 

 him past Willow Hall, Stoney Flat and Bishopton, up to 

 Woogrey, leaving this on the left, Lea Close on the left, 

 and Stillington on the left ; over Shotton moor we fairly 



