THE REV. ROBERT SYMONDS 53 



as the " Hampton Court Harriers," the " Red- 

 marley Harriers." 



Robert Symonds having married Mr. Loder's 

 daughter, 1796, came to Hinton, bringing with 

 him his hounds and his brother Edward who 

 had hunted the hounds in Herefordshire and 

 on the Cotswolds. Edward Symonds was a 

 character such as is admirably portrayed by 

 Addison as "Will Honeycomb," Born a sixth 

 son, with a very small fortune, he chose to 

 devote himself to the sports of the field, with 

 an ardour which a far larger portion would 

 hardly support. A general favourite with 

 every one, very skilled in everything apper- 

 taining to horses and hounds, good-natured, 

 and agreeable to all, he was " no man's 

 enemy but his own." 



The two packs, Mr. Loder's and his son-in- 

 law's, were hunted together. The Hereford- 

 shire hounds were called "Welsh hounds" by 

 the Berkshire sportsmen. They were smaller 

 and slower than the original pack, but Robert 

 Symonds held that they had much better 

 noses. Upon one occasion, when a fox had 

 been killed after a sharp burst down in the 

 Vale, the " Welsh Hounds " had been left be- 

 hind, and one of the field remarked to the 

 Master, "You will admit your Welsh hounds 

 would never have caught this fox." " I will 



