1821] THE FIRST WILL SMITH. 49 



Humberstone, placing the village close on the left as they 

 swept round to Tetney. After placing this on the left as 

 well, the pack then swung right-handed past Holton Cross 

 to Brigsley, skirting it and running to the Barnoldby road. 

 They had come all this way in fine style, but for some 

 unaccountable reason they now checked in the road. 

 Smith's cast then hit off a line which led through Bradley 

 Gears to Bradley Wood, where hounds had a brace of 

 foxes in front of them and unfortunately changed, follow- 

 ing the fresh fox through Laceby Cottagers' Plats, and, 

 with Laceby village close on the right, nearly to Irby. A 

 left turn brought hounds to Irby Scrub Close, where they 

 ran in covert for some time and then went away to the 

 Laceby Plantations, having either changed in Scrub Close 

 or changing here. The pack then ran hard to Welbeck 

 Hill, where a storm pulled them up dead, and an extremely 

 fine run came to an end near Hatcliffe. 



" One of the prettiest day's hunting I ever saw," says 

 Will; ''nothing could exceed the industry of the hounds 

 (every hound). I really never saw them hang longer on 

 a declining scent, and they never more deserved a fox." 

 This was on March 18th, when hounds ran from Bradley 

 Gears to Bradley Wood, and after hanging there for some 

 time, went away to Laceby Cottagers' Plats, and, left- 

 handed, to Scartho village. With this on the left, the 

 fox then headed for Peeks, turned right-handed, with 

 Waltham on the right, to Brigsley, right-handed through 

 Waltham Gorse, then towards the Southwells, through 

 Bradley Gears, Bradley Wood, and Laceby Cottagers' 

 Plats, and by Aylesby mill to Stallingborough Covert, 

 where he ran hounds out of scent. 



There were two very hard days on April 20th and 

 23rd ; hounds were running continuously for four hours 

 and a half on the first day, and the second was the last of 

 the season, of which this is the summary : — 



Went out one hundred and five days after cub- 

 hunting. Killed one hundred and twenty-eight foxes, ran 

 forty-one foxes to ground, stopped hounds from thirty- 



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