124 GOOD SPORT 



on his pursuers. Mr. McNeill viewed him nearly 

 the whole of the journey, seeing him miss his footing 

 at the last stone wall and fall back. Though the 

 mistake only made a matter of a second or two, 

 it sealed the doom of a gallant fox ; for Housemaid 

 dashed out with the lead, and, catching him by the 

 brush as he topped the wall the second time, herself 

 went over with the impetus, knocked out on the 

 far side. An electrifying cheer from the master 

 put a finish to the fastest burst of the season, when 

 they killed under the wall near Springhill. 



" Whoo-whoop ! they have him — they're round him! how 

 They worry and tear when he's down ! 

 'Twas a stout hill-fox when they found him, now 

 'Tis a hundred tatters of brown ! " 



Another good gallop, from a thruster's point of 

 view as well as the huntsman's, was from Gallipot 

 Gorse in the Vale. An old customer, who had led 

 the pack on several occasions and saved his brush 

 by getting to ground, was not so fortunate on this 

 day. Running well by Toddington without touch- 

 ing a covert, they passed Worrington village and 

 crossed the new railway below Laverton. It was 

 evident that the pilot meant the earths on the hill- 

 side in Burill Wood, but two fields from that point 

 the bitches suddenly viewed him. Up went their 

 hackles, and, giving utterance to that cry of delight 

 which proclaims the death-knell, their language 

 seemed to convey its meaning to the hunted one. 

 A curious incident occurred at the finish, which was 

 witnessed by several members of the hunt. In the 

 last grass field, when this gallant fox reahsed that 

 he was beaten, he stopped and, turning round, met 

 the pack. With gleaming ivories he died facing the 

 foe, his teeth meeting in a death grip directly the 



