



--•Ajti-A 





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CHAPTER VI. 

 The Rule of Mr. George Lane Fox (continued). 



WITH TOM SMITH AS HUNTSMAN, 1 87 7-85. 



Sjiith had not a very encouraging- start, for the harvest of 

 1877 was a very late one, and it was not till the middle of 

 September that he made a beginning amongst the cubs. 

 Then there was a good deal of rainfall, and the drip off the 

 leaves did not at all tend to the improvement of scent. It was 

 altogether a trying situation for a young huntsman to be in, 

 for it must be remembered that it was Smith's first attempt 

 with the horn, though he had had a good schooling under 

 some of the best huntsmen of the day. He had the 

 additional disadvantage of the master's absence on his first 

 mornings. 



1877-78. Notwithstanding all these drawbacks, however, 

 he made a capital start, and it was not long before Mr. Fox 

 could write in his diary of a 'good, cheerful morning.' On 

 the 15th, Smith was sent to Byram to commence the cub- 

 hunting season. Byram, on a pouring wet morning, was not a 

 cheerful start, especially as scent was wretched. They found 



