ISIS] THE FIRST WILL SMITH. 35 



hunting nm, hounds killing their fox on each occasion. 

 The first was with a fox found at AValtham Lingmere, the 

 pack in hot haste running to Grainsby Healing, where the 

 fox was headed and turned, with Fenby Wood and Ashby 

 Cottagers' Plats on the left, over the Barton Street to 

 Ravendale. The fox took two or three turns round the 

 village, and hounds then ran into him in the open, when 

 heading for Croxby. 



The Gunnerby fox ran in covert for some time and 

 then went away towards Thorganby, but being headed, 

 came short back to Mr. Brown's covert, where other foxes 

 were found afoot. They ran in covert hard for half an 

 hour, and then went away towards Hawerby and came 

 round right-handed towards Gunnerby to the covert again, 

 where they continued to run till nearly dark, when the 

 beaten fox went away towards Ravendale and lay down 

 in a hedge bottom. The hounds ran right over him, and 

 the fox then proceeded to drag his weary limbs back 

 towards the covert again. But Smith soon had the pack 

 on his line again, and succeeded in catching him before 

 he could gain its shelter. It was quite dark when they 

 killed. There was a good scent the whole day. 



Frost again stopped hunting from December 22nd till 

 January 2nd, and the first good run after was from 

 Stallingborough Hall on January 12th, when the hounds 

 had a very long twisting hunt with a fox from Scrubb 

 Close over Roxton, Healing, Aylesby, Laceby, Irby, and 

 Great Coates to the Humber bank. The fox was viewed 

 on the mud from the Humber bank, so Smith took the 

 hounds down to him, but he went into the water and was 

 drowned. It was a very bad day for hounds indeed. 



But a still more remarkable day was January 14th, 

 the best that Smith had seen up to that time, and he says 

 he never saw hounds work better or run stouter. They 

 began with a very fast burst from Barrow Hand, first 

 going through Goxhill nearly to Langmere Furze, right- 

 handed along the bank to Littleworth, and right-handed 

 through Goxhill churchyard, with the Allands on the 



