THE RULE OF Mr. GEORGE LANE FOX. 77 



' through the plantation, leaving Birk Crag to the right, 

 ' and carried him on about three miles, pointing for the 

 ' Nidd. A good run, but getting late, and our horses not 

 ' anxious to go on, we stopped. One hour and a half to 

 ' Walton Head, one hour to Birk Crag. Very good and 

 ' severe day.' 



On the loth, they met at Cross Roads, Bramham, and 

 what they did that day is not Hkely to be forgotten, by 

 those who were out. There was not much scent, and as 

 usual under those circumstances, the fox hung about, and 

 they hunted him into Bramham village. He looked in at 

 the door of Miss Ledgard's house, and some hounds went 

 in and jumped through the drawing-room window. The 

 sport on the 1 5th is worthy of record for the curious 

 circumstance which took place : — 



' Boot and .Shoe. Killed a lame fox from the small wood near 

 ' Newfield. Found near the Boot and Shoe, and lost. 

 ' Found in jMicklefield Wood, and ran a ring round the 

 ' woods, then away by Led Mill to Bullen Wood, turned 

 ' away from Heyton Wood, and killed a few fields below 

 'Jackdaw Crag. One hour, five minutes. A most curious 

 ' occurrence, whilst the hounds were running into their fox, 

 'a fresh one jumped up, and was killed at the same moment.' 



\^ery severe was the frost which set in two days later, 

 and on Christmas-day the thermometer was nine degrees 

 below zero. Sport was good when they got to work again, 

 but February was rather a broken month. March, however, 

 did well, and it opened with a glorious day's sport : — 



'March ist. Tadcaster Bar. Found and killed in Catterton 

 ' Wood. Found in Shire Oaks ; went away very fast 

 ' towards Wighill, back towards Catterton, turned to the 

 ' left to Healaugh village, came to a check at the gravel 

 ' pits ; very fast, twenty-five minutes. Hunted slowly on 

 ' towards Wighill, turned to the left to Healaugh House, 



