A HUNT WITH SIR WILLIAM COOKE 73 



losing no time at the fences. Of the country, 

 Nimrod wrote many years ago. "It holds a good 

 scent, is easy and gentleman-like to cross, and the 

 Leicestershire side is very good indeed." At the 

 end of season igio-ii George Whitemore retired, 

 and Mr T. Bouch from Ireland, joined Lord 

 Huntingdon in a joint-mastership, the two masters 

 carrying the horn on alternate days, with Ned 

 Friend as first whipper-in and kennel huntsman. 



Sir William Cooke and the Southwold Hounds 



A hunt from Ranby Hall, when staying with 

 Sir William Cooke, owner of Hornets Beauty, and 

 joint-master with Mr E. P. Rawnsley of the South- 

 wold hounds, was the opportunity to see the ex- 

 tensive wolds of Lincolnshire under ideal circum- 

 stances. The second largest county in England, 

 Lincolnshire is one of the best for sport and agri- 

 culture, the Southwold being a rare sporting 

 district, rich in old associations. In such a country 

 there is everything to please the sportsman, who 

 loves to see hound work under all conditions, the 

 Southwold pack being famed for their staunchness 

 in chase. On the wolds there is a good deal of 

 up and down hill work, besides bad ground to 

 travel over, so that a quick, active hound is best 

 adapted for the country. The southern portion 

 extends far into the fens, an immense stretch of 

 flat reclaimed land, intersected with numerous dykes 

 and drains, closely resembling HoUand in character. 

 This portion is not often hunted, and there are no 

 coverts, but occasionally foxes wander into the 

 area, and a bold big jumper is necessary to keep 

 them in view, bridges over these drains being miles 

 apart. 



When Sir William Cooke came in igog from the 



