1821] THE FIRST WILL 8MITH. 47 



by Grainsby Holme to Thoresby Field, and right-handed in 

 succession to Hawerby, Fenby Wood, and Ashby Cottagers' 

 Plats, and, with that covert on the left, first towards Ashby 

 village and then towards Grainsby, where the pack ran 

 from scent to view, and killed. 



On the 26th there was another good run of an hour 

 and twenty-five minutes, hounds killing their fox " hand- 

 somely." Captain Forbes had a bad fall that day at Heal- 

 in o- and had to be carried to Mr. Parkinson's house. 



On March 2nd came yet another good run — this time 

 an hour and a quarter — from Stock Furlong, by Peterhills, 

 Thorganby, Ravendale, Ashby Cottagers' Plats, Grainsby 

 Healing, Waithe, and Holton Cross, nearly to Humber- 

 stone, where hounds caught their fox and killed him. 

 " No hounds could have worked more to perfection," says 

 their proud huntsman. 



Every day seemed to bring good sport now, and the 

 early part of the second half of the season appeared to 

 have been exceptionally good till the dry fallows, at the 

 end of March, spoilt the wonderful sequence of red-letter 

 days. Then came a spell of stormy weather, which did 

 not improve scent ; and although there were one or two 

 hard days for hounds and horses, the season fizzled out on 

 April 28th, so that Will had not the chance of killing a 

 May fox, though one hundred and thirteen came to hand 

 in all. Both ends of the season were bad, but the middle 

 was good enough for any one. 



The cub-hunting season of 1821 was a very successful 

 one, thanks to the wet ; but the corn was out late, and 

 hounds had often to be stopped in consequence, when on 

 good terms with their fox. They killed eighteen and a half 

 brace of cubs, and would have killed more but for the late 

 harvest. October 15th saw the curtain go up at Hundon, 

 and hounds had a busy day in the woodlands, killing a 

 brace of foxes, the second after a good forty minutes' burst. 



But the first good run came oft' on November 23rd 

 from Irby Dales, when hounds ran for an hour and twenty 

 minutes, and killed a dead-beat fox. They found at the 



