i64 Reminiscences of a 



In addition to this work, they each did two seasons 

 hunting before they came into their recent owner's posses- 

 sion, and were both successful under National Hunt rules. 

 Their summer holidays were always spent out at grass, and 

 they never had any corn until taken up early in August of 

 each year. 



March 17th, 1882, was a good day to wind up the 

 season, especially as ground was hard and dry ; met at 

 Coxhoe Bridge. A curious incident occurred this day, when 

 we ran to ground near Dropswell we found a brace of 

 foxes in a drain by the road side, one of which (a dog fox) 

 was quickly expelled and killed. The vixen bolted after- 

 wards, rushed past some horsemen and brushing past the 

 heels of the horse ridden by a keen sportsman, Mr. 

 Greenwell, from a neighbouring hunt, paid the penalty 

 of death, for the horse let out, caught her fair, and 

 killed her on the spot ; I never saw a fox killed in 

 this way except on this occasion, but I have myself 

 galloped into a hare and killed it in its seat, when riding 

 old " Stewardess," and seen others do the same. Mr. George 

 Sutton will well remember the hare killed by the old 

 grey mare. Stewardess. On the occasion above referred to 

 I don't know that the blame attached to any one, as in the 

 excitement of the moment all the field were riding about or 

 standing nearer than they should have done, but there was 

 some extremely fancy language exchanged between the 

 honorary secretary of the South Durham and the unfor- 

 tunate fox killing gentleman, which was amusing for the 

 time, but soon passed off. 



Altogether 1881-2 was a wonderful season for open 

 weather, grand scents and number of foxes. The South 

 Durham had during this season about twenty real good 



