1814] THE SECOND TOM SMITH. 21 



found him, and after a couple of turns in covert, hounds 

 dashed away at a great pace with a capital scent. Cross- 

 ing the ])rook, the fox first pointed for Irby Holme, but 

 he turned short to the right in the direction of Laceby, 

 and a momentary check occurred at the cross-roads. 

 Hitting him off " handsomely," hounds then turned to 

 the left, and soon after their sinking fox began to run 

 very short; then, coming up hand-over-hand, they rolled 

 him over in the road at Riby. " I think," says Will 

 Smith, " this was one of the smartest bursts I ever saw, 

 and the hounds carried a remarkably good head. If any 

 deserve to be called leading hounds, they are Charmer, 

 Blissful, and Blowzy. Almost every horse was blown." 



There was also a good ringing day on November 4 th 

 from Healing Wells, when a couple of foxes were killed 

 and another run to ground. 



Meeting at Chase Hill on November 25th, liounds were 

 running hard all day over the East Halton marshes, and 

 in the Barrow, ( Joxhill, and Thornton district, killing one 

 fox but experiencing some ill-luck. Scent was fickle, 

 but it was a good hard da}''s sport nevertheless. On the 

 following day there was a pretty run from Barrow Black - 

 mould to Ulceby Moor ; but here hounds changed foxes, 

 and were occupied in running from fox to fox for the rest 

 of the day. There was also a good ringing run, ending 

 with a kill, from Hell Furze on the 28th. 



I regret to read that on December 12th Tom Smith 

 lost an Irby fox near Riby Bratlands " in consequence of 

 some of the company being very wild and carrying hounds 

 on." Later on, the same day, hounds brought off a smart 

 burst in the shape of a ring from Mr. Torr's covert over 

 Aylesby and Riby back to Mr. Torr's yard, where they 

 killed him. 



On December 17tli liounds lost a beaten fox on account 

 of Messrs. E. and J. Hoi gate holloaing hounds on to a 

 fresh one. They had found their fox in Mr. Appleby's 

 covert, and run him over by Dunkirk, over Ulceby Field 

 and through Ulceby Carr, wliere this sad catastrophe took 



