1900] JIM SMITH. 181 



and the first check occurred one field from Badger Hills. 

 Smith soon found the fox had not gone on ; and casting 

 back, struck the line of a fox behind Cabourne, with which 

 hounds raced back to the Pillar Woods. That it w^as 

 a fresh fox is practically certain, for the hunted animal 

 could not possibly have lived to the end of that race over 

 the Cabourne Hills. Mr. Davy dropped out on a beaten 

 horse at Cabourne, and Mr. Cecil Stephen chipped in. The 

 fox was viewed into the w^oods a field in front of hounds, 

 and we had to gallop our hardest down the velvety rides 

 to keep pace with the flying bitches, who raced past the 

 Swiss Cottage and faced the open at the Swallow corner. 

 Skirting Dauber's covert, and with Henholes close on our 

 left, hounds ran down to Swallow village, went through 

 the Vicarage grounds and Beech Holt, and had three lines 

 into Badger Hills, the main body marking their fox to 

 ground in the field on the other side of the covert. The 

 huntsman, who was riding Captain Pelham's bay horse, 

 Alsatian, says, "it is the fastest hour and fifty minutes it 

 has ever been my lot to see," and " the scribe," for the 

 first and only time, got to the bottom of his chestnut 

 mare. The Geisha. The only check was the one before 

 Badger Hills, after hounds had been running an hour. 



April 11th was the last day of an enjoyable season, 

 during which hounds were out one hundred and three 

 times, killing forty-four brace of foxes and running nine- 

 teen and a half to ground. The latter part of the season 

 Avas much the best. 



Tbe season 1900-1901 was by far the best Ave have 

 had during Jim Smith's period as huntsman at Brocklesby. 

 It was mild, wet, and open throughout, and nearly always 

 deep going. Yet much of the success of the season, 

 apart from climatic conditions, was due to the capital cub- 

 hunting. For the greater part of it there was a grand 

 scent, and when a dry spell set in just before the opening 

 day the young hounds never forgot what they had learned, 

 nor looked back afterwards. They killed fifty-five foxes 

 in forty-four days' cubbing, and the luck again changing 



