146 SPORTING REMINISCENCES [1825 to 



little notion of a hunter, and occasionally sells 

 one, on fair terms, to the gentlemen in the 

 neighbourhood. 



" During the time my horses were 



Mr. T. o J 



Smith of at Alresford I had the pleasure of 

 spending a week with Mr. Smith, 

 who now has the management of the Ham- 

 bledon hounds. He resides at Hill-place, three 

 miles from Droxford, in the house which Sir 

 Bellingham Graham and Mr. Osbaldeston occu- 

 pied when they hunted the Hambledon country. 

 There are stables for twenty-one horses, and the 

 kennel, built by Sir Bellingham, under the 

 superintendence and direction of Mr. Kicoll, is 

 a very comfortable one for a small establish- 

 ment, and agrees well with hounds. The roof 

 is thatched, which is considered an advantage 

 in keeping hounds warm in severe weather. 



"There is an old saying, 'A rolling stone 

 never gathers moss ;' and it is no small disad- 

 vantage to the Hambledon country, that in 

 the course of the last ten years it has been in 

 the possession of the following gentlemen : Mr. 

 Powlett, Mr. Eyles, Mr. Nunez, Sir Bellingham 

 Graham, Mr. Osbaldeston, Mr. John Walker, 

 Mr. Shard, and Mr. Smith, who at present 

 hunts it.* Mr. Smith did not take to it under 



* Nimrod has omitted Mr. Richards of North House, who had the 

 hounds for one season in 1815. 



