172 THE BROCKLESBY HOUNDS. [1898 



fields short of the covert. There was a good run from 

 Bradley Wood later on, the fox being left dead-beat at 

 Peeks at night. 



One of the best runs I remember that year was from 

 Drake's Gorse on March 16th, for we ran a nine-mile point 

 in about fifty minutes, and only touched one covert, and 

 that soon after the start, and we certainly did not change 

 there. We got quickly away from the gorse, and running 

 through Maud Hole, hounds turned across the Great 

 Coates road to run through the osiers in the valley and 

 the Laceby Paddocks to the Grimsby road. With the 

 new mill on the right and the old one on the left, hounds 

 then pressed on towards Barnoldby, turned right-handed 

 over Welbeck Hill, and, just skirting Irby Holme on the 

 left, ran on to Beelsby Vicarage. A swing to the right 

 found us galloping parallel to the Croxby road, Croxby 

 Pond being on the left and Cuxwold Asholt on the right. 

 " What do you think of the Healing foxes now ? " says 

 Mr. Richardson triumphantly, as we pressed on over Roth- 

 well ; for we had been crabbing them unmercifully this 

 season. But a field from Rothwell Gorse saw the decline 

 of our sport, for hounds unfortunately changed foxes, the 

 fresh one leaving a very difi'erent scent behind him to that 

 of his predecessor, and the run fizzled out about a quarter 

 of an hour later. We also had a good six-mile point and 

 forty minutes' hunt from Irby Dales to the Target Planta- 

 tion later on in the day. Hounds ran well on the grass, 

 but scent was not quite good enough on the wolds to kill 

 a beaten fox. 



A terrible fire partly destroyed Brocklesby Hall on 

 Sunday, March 27th, and a great many valuables were 

 either burnt or damaged by water, so hounds did not keep 

 their appointment on the Monday, meeting at the kennels 

 the next day instead. 



The season 1897-98 evidently determined to die hard, 

 for hounds scored two more days considerably above the 

 average before 2;oino; into retirement for the summer, and 

 good sport was maintained right up to the finish. First 



