34 HISTORY OF THE YORK AND AINSTY HUNT. 



The country in 'Nimrod's'* day was very different to 

 what it is now, and his description of it affords 

 interesting reading. ' I consider it favourable to hounds 

 and unfavourable to horses, on account of the wet, and 

 in many places boggy state of the land, in addition to 

 its being nine-tenths ploughed. In another respect it is 

 unfavourable to horses : it is so very flat that hounds 

 are lost sight of if suffered to ret two fields ahead ; 

 so there is no riding to points, as in most other provincial 

 countries. The fences — the common hedge and ditch, 

 not often bound — though they occur frequently, are not 

 difficult; but a brook-jumper is often wanted, as in parts 

 there are many wide drains. Few of the gates in the 

 north are practicable, as they far exceed the usual height.' 



Though 'Nimrod' speaks well of the hounds in the 

 kennel, he appears to have only had indifferent sport 

 with them, some of those untoward incidents which go 

 to mar a day's sport constantly cropping up. It is 

 perhaps best to let him tell his own tale : — 



'Saturday, the iith. Met the York and Ainsty at Hulby, 

 ' eight miles from York, in the direction of Boroughbridge. 

 ' Unfortunately we had no sport. Our first fox was lost 

 ' by the ignorance of the second whipper-in, who never 

 ' attempted to turn the hounds, which ran over three fields 

 ' with their heads up — the fox having turned short back. 

 ' He was also ably seconded by a well-mounted gentleman 

 ' in scarlet, who was of course equally at sea. The hounds 

 ' being disappointed and the scent bad, they did not 

 ' settle again, and we lost him. After chopping another, 

 ' we found again in Oldwork (Aldwark) Wood, but the 

 ' scent got worse and worse. I viewed the fox across the 

 ' field about ten minutes after we found, and although 

 ' the hounds came to holloa immediately, only one of 

 ' them, Remus, could speak to it. This country was close, 

 ' and some of it loose in the soil, and not looking 



"Nimrod's" tour took place in 1826. 



