1899] JIM SMITH. 175 



and the 16tli owing to the dry state of the country, and 

 a bad scenting cub-hunting season came to an end on 

 November 5th, hounds having been out twenty-five days 

 and killed twelve and a half brace of cubs, four brace 

 having been run to ground. The regular season opened 

 from Brocklesby Hall on November 7th with a fast thirty- 

 five minutes at the end of the day ; but November was 

 a bad scenting month, and there was no sport worth 

 mentioning till December 10th, when there was a good 

 three hours' hunting run from Immingham, hounds 

 changing foxes four times, and being beaten by a failing 

 scent in the end. But the best day's sport before Christmas 

 came on December 22nd from a meet at Healino- Manor. 

 Hounds found in the Gorse and hunted beautifully through 

 Healing Wells and Sutton Thorns (Songstress leading), 

 and back by Healing Station, through Drake's Gorse, over 

 Aylesby, and through Irby Dales, losing their fox close 

 by Irby Dales in most unlucky fashion. They found 

 again at once in Mr. Coates's turnips, and went away at 

 a tremendous pace through Beelsby as if for Barnoldby ; 

 but a turn to the left, leaving Irby Holme on the left, 

 took the field through Irby village to the main earths at 

 Swallow. Faulty information caused a check on Mr. 

 Bingham's farm, but Smith persevered with his sinking 

 fox, and hitting him off* at Henholes, hunted on — the scent 

 improving each hundred yards till the pack started to race 

 for their fox — leaving Irby village and Irby Holme on the 

 left, and Beelsby close on the right. At Welbeck Hill 

 hounds ran from scent to view, and a kill in mid-field 

 made a fitting conclusion to a capital hunt of an hour and 

 fifty minutes. 



A very tiring day, that saw all our horses well beaten 

 at the finish, was on January 28th, 1899, from Thornton 

 College. After a moderate beginning hounds settled on 

 a fox in Chase Hill and gave him a rousing twenty 

 minutes in the open by Killingholme and East Halton, 

 back to Chase Hill, where they changed, and gave the 

 fresh fox forty minutes' brisk work over much the same 



