Tom Hills 39 



Peckham Hills, his son and brother. Here Tom's 

 characteristic seat is shown to advantage ; and what a stamp 

 of hunter he is riding ! One would be sure to feel like 

 " going" on such a " patent safety," even if the first fence 

 were by way of being a " rasper." 



Here, too, we give an account of a typical run with the 

 Old Surrey in Tom Hills' time — namely, on 17 March, 

 1828. The writer of this report signs himself, "A 

 Youngster," but we are informed that he was Major H. 

 Bethune, one of the best of sportsmen. He thus records 

 his impressions : — 



" Mr. H. Weston, the banker, mounted on his wonder- 

 ful grey mare, and I on a good hunter named Woodcock, 

 met the Old Surrey hounds at the Half Moon on the 

 Godstone Road. We sat in the road while the huntsmen 

 drew the high coverts to the right, when £ Tally-ho ! ' was 

 heard on a hill to our left, which was echoed with c Hark 

 halloa ! ' a countryman having viewed a fox slipping out of 

 a chalk pit. Then Tom Hills, always ready, came charg- 

 ing down the hill towards us at forty miles an hour, his 

 horn at his mouth, blowing a stentorian blast, and his 

 hounds at his horse's heels, a fine sketch for an artist. 

 Only five out of fifty or sixty horsemen were well placed. 

 Weston and I rasped at a perpendicular bank with a stake- 

 bound fence at the top. The hounds were now laid on 

 and away we went, our minds made up for grand 

 achievements. Straight away and through Marden Park, 

 thence over the Warlingham Hills. Here the Master, 

 Mr. Haigh, with Peckham the whipper-in, and a few 



