66 HISTORY OF THE YORK AND AINSTY HUNT. 



The following account of a fine day's sport is- taken from 

 BclTs Life in London for February 7th, 1841. Mr. York 

 does not appear to have been out, and it is not until a tort- 

 night or more later that there is anything to record from 

 his diaries : — 



' Brilliant Run with the Yokk and Ainsty Foxhounds. 



'This old-established and well-supported pack of foxhounds 

 ' met on Monday last at Skelton. The weather was rather 

 ' unpropitious owingf to the frost, which had again set in 

 ' that morning, with an easterly wind. Nevertheless, the 

 ' field was numerous, the hearts of Yorkshiremen being in 

 ' the right place. On the hounds being thrown into covert 

 ' a dog fox immediately broke covert towards Overton 

 ' Wood. Finding the hounds pressed upon him, he pro- 

 ' ceeded over the deep country to Beningbrough, and from 

 ' thence to Court House Spring, which he merely skirted, 

 ' and determined not to take too much out of himself, 

 ' onwards he went in a straig-ht line to the Great North of 

 ' England railroad, which he crossed near to the Angel 

 ' inn. Here he was viewed, and was headed. However, 

 ' nothing daunted, he soon returned to his own line. 

 ' " Hurrah for Brafferton Spring. Give your horses time, 

 ' or you'll not see the end of him," holloas old Will. In 

 'this instance the old one was taken in, for revnard, deter- 

 ' mined that no one should know whither he was steering, 

 ' shifted his position to the other side of the Easingvvold 

 ' road from York. Here again he was viewed. The hounds, 

 ' after crossing the road, began to run for him, and the 

 ' pace was tremendous up to Hawkhills. Despising the 

 ' covert, he pursued a straight line by the town of Easing- 

 ' wold, towards Crayke, and after a run (according to 

 ' ]\Ir. Lloyd's watch) of an hour and twenty minutes, he 

 ' was pulled down at Oulston, thereby crowning with glory 

 ' one of the finest day's sport that has been witnessed for 

 ' ages in any country, the distance from point to point 

 ' fourteen miles. The country was deep, and the enclosures 

 ' small ; two or three brooks were in the line, which added 

 ' variety to the leaps. The worthy master of these hounds, 

 ' Mr. Lloyd, was up at the finish, with his first-rate hunts- 



