1833] THE FIRST WILL SMITH. 57 



Thoresby Field, with Grainsby House on the right, close 

 up to Ashby Cottagers' Plats, having come from Beesby 

 Wood at a tremendous pace. At reduced speed they ran 

 through Ashby village, and by the Moor House Farm 

 crossed the brook to Barnoldby, through which they 

 hunted very slowly ; and they were eventually run out 

 of scent between Barnoldby and Bradley. It was a capita' 

 hunt of just on two hours, and both were good foxes, 

 running straight across a good line of country in each 

 case. The hounds did their work very well. 



From AVaddingham Banks, on the 21st of the same 

 month, there was a sharp burst of twenty-five minutes, 

 with a kill in the open ; and this was followed l^y an hour 

 and twenty minutes from Blyborough Covert, hounds 

 killing their fox in Lea Wood. While taking refreshment 

 at Lea House, Pillager managed to get some horse-medicine 

 which killed him, and Nelson was also made very ill with 

 it, but managed to get rid of it. 



November 30th saw Smith in the saddle again, he 

 having been laid up since the 5th. 



December 5th was a very hard day, for hounds were 

 running three hours and ten minutes, and Smith says he 

 never saw a day so full of difficulties, through people cross- 

 ing the line of scent, through it l)eing foiled by sheep and 

 cattle, and through the many and repeated holloas to fresh 

 foxes. Yet he never saw hounds perform more creditably, 

 and he makes particular mention of Granville, Woeful, 

 Boundless, Archer, Playful, Rarity, Ringlet, Nelly, Major, 

 Merrilass, Wilful, Chanticleer, Pleader, Ganymede, Glider, 

 Golden, Bluebell, Prompter, and Ruby. Hounds met that 

 morning at Laceby Cottagers' Plats, and went at once to 

 Peeks — then, as now, a bad scenting covert — and in it they 

 hunted for a quarter of an hour. Outside they found a 

 very great difference, and they went away at a tremendous 

 pace, close past Humberstone village towards Tetney, 

 right-handed towards Holton, and still right-handed back 

 to Peeks : a charming half-hour's gallop. Here they found 

 two lines, and lost a quarter of an hour ; eventually going 



