1833] THE FIRST WILL SMITH. 55 



viewed his fox, and continued to view him as he ran 

 straight across the middle of the fields, first towards 

 Keelby Sprothorns, where he w\as headed, and then right- 

 handed along the brook till he crossed and made straight 

 for Roxton AVood. The hounds were gaining on him fast, 

 and Will says that had the wood been half a mile further 

 off hounds must have killed him. The fox ran the middle 

 of the rides, and hounds soon had two lines, and took the 

 wrong one, though Will Mason, the first whipper-in, saw 

 the run fox, closely pursued by two couple of hounds ; 

 but he did not tell the huntsman, and stopping the hounds, 

 turned them to the body of the pack, then running in grand 

 form over the brook to Rough Pastures. In Carr Leys 

 hounds got a view of their fox and nearly killed him, and 

 Smith for the first time Ijceame aware of the fact that he had 

 a fresh fox in front of him. Thinking that he had changed 

 in Carr Leys, he tried for him there, and on finding his 

 mistake, clapped on in pursuit of the Roxton Wood fox. 

 Hounds hunted him back through Rough Pastures Wood 

 towards Brocklesby, and then left-handed back to Roxton, 

 from which place they ran a ring through Carr Leys, 

 Thomas' Wood and Waterhills, back to Roxton AVood. 

 And here luck befriended the hard-working pack, for they 

 divided, and were reunited on the line of their first fox, 

 ran to Immingham, and there killed him, quite dead 

 beat. 



There was a very big gathering at Thonock House on 

 March 2nd, and the field included such celebrities as Lord 

 WiUiam and Lord Charles Manners, Lord Henry Bentinck, 

 Sir Richard Sutton, and Mr. Foljambe ; but there was a 

 shocking scent and very poor sport. 



March 3rd was the first time of drawing Great Coates 

 Covert, the gift of Sir Richard Sutton, and hounds found 

 a brace of foxes there. It had been sown with gorse some 

 few years, but all but two acres had missed, so it was 

 filled up with privet and thorns ; there was excellent 

 lying in the gorse part, and one of its occupants that 

 day provided a good, though ringing, hunt. 



