SOME OF THE FIELD. 197 



here,' caused many a laugh among those who ' could see Tom saying it.' To 

 the last he could go a burster in the hunting-field for a short distance, and no 

 one loved the sport better, or remembered more accurately the work of every 

 great Brocklesby hound. Old William Smith's name brought up many a racy 

 story, told in a dry, quiet way. He bought a large number of hunters for Baron 

 Rothschild ; and although he did not bother about breeding blood-stock, he 

 liked a race dearly. We well remember meeting him in the paddock on Carac- 

 tacus's Derby-day, and his telling us that ' he didn't quite see the winner,' but 

 he had his eye on Lord Clifden, as a regular clinker for the next Derby, and 

 that he should never see such a two-year-old again. He was also a capital 

 judge of cart-horses (although he hated the job), and a grey he met at the 

 Worcester Royal was the apple of his eye. 



" A few weeks before his death he had the misfortune to have one of his 

 little fingers chopped off in a circular sawing-machine. It did not heal well, aTid 

 at last he applied some salve, which cured it, perhaps too quickly. After that 

 he burnt the back of one of his hands severely. Both of these accidents told on 

 him ; and then he got very wet over a farm valuation. On reaching home he 

 took to his bed, and lay there from the Tuesday to the next Monday, when he 

 died. Lincolnshire will long think of her fine old hunting ' worthy.' " 



Mr. Field Nicholsox. 



A contemporary and friendly rival of Mr. Tom Brooks 

 was Mr. Field Nicholson, who was born at Bradley, and 

 afterwards lived at the same farm. Another rather cele- 

 brated Nicholson was his brother Brady, who lived at 

 Wootton Lawn. Dick Christian has a word to say about 

 Mr. Field Nicholson : " That King of the Valley you've 

 heard of was Mr. Maxse's horse. Old George Marriott — 

 how I have seen him go, to be sure, in the Ranksboro' 

 country ! — showed this 'ere grey to Tilbury, when the down 

 mail stopped somewhere ; he says, ' If you don't buy him, 

 I will ; ' so Tilbury did buy him. There were seven of us 

 in that great go from Noseley Wood to Billesdon Coplow. 

 Field Nicholson won on Magic, and I was second on this 

 King. I got dreadfully crowded in, and I had two falls, 

 or I should have beat them. Mr. Haycock was leading 

 on Clinker three fields from home, nearly a hundred yards 

 before Magic. Poor Clinker ! He was blind with defeat 

 when his bridle came off. I was two hundred yards nearer 

 the Coplow when I fell ; they talked a deal about my 



