1835] THE FIRST WILL SMITH. 61 



with the fresh one through Bowlands and Henholes to the 

 New Close Plantations, and short to the left by Silverhills 

 and Badger Hills towards Croxby. The pack then turned 

 to the right for Thoresway, where they began to press 

 their fox, sending him right-handed towards Eothwell 

 Covert, and still right to Rothwell village, and there 

 they pulled him down in mid-field, after a good run of an 

 hour and twenty minutes. Mr. Gol ton's horse, a very 

 good one, that had carried him well that day, died from 

 the effects of this gallop. 



The season closed on March 23rd, and that is the last 

 entry in the diary, although only about one-third of its 

 pages had been used, and the next volume to hand opens 

 with the cub-hunting of 1835, thus missing the whole 

 of a year. 



There was rather a late start cub-huntiuo- in 1835, 

 August 31st being the first day, cub-hunting the previous 

 year having commenced three days earlier ; on each 

 occasion it was the dry state of the country that caused 

 the delay. Smith remarks that " we formerly began very 

 early, but I think from the 20th to 25th of August as 

 good a time as you can begin." This was the first year 

 that the dogs and bitches were divided, and they were 

 hunted so till September 28th. Will says that of the two 

 he preferred the dogs most, as they wevG steadier in their 

 work than the lady pack. They went out twenty-five 

 times cub-hunting, killed twenty-eight foxes and ran four 

 to ground. The regular season began on October 19th, and 

 the first day of note was on November 13th from a meet 

 at Thonock House, beginning with a good hour and thirty- 

 five minutes around Gainsborough, with a kill at the end 

 of it. Hounds then trotted on to Blyborough Covert, and 

 after a couple of rings in covert the fox went away nearly 

 to Harpswell, where he was headed and turned right-handed 

 towards Tiger Holt, and then left-handed to Blythe Close. 

 From here he went up the hill to Glentworth, turned 

 right-handed to the Lincoln road, and ran the roadside to 

 Fillingham, where hounds turned left over the road and 



