EARL OF STAMFORD 257 



In a sharp run from Baggrave Spinney to Whetstone, Lord 

 Wilton, who was riding well to the fore as usual, had an ugly 

 fall, which caused serious injury to his thigh ; but no bones being 

 broken, he was in the saddle again in a few weeks ; and in a run 

 which took place on the 4th December from Parson's Gorse in the 

 Widmerpool country, Treadwell's bold riding was much approved, 

 as for the forty-five minutes during which the run lasted he was 

 always in the same field with his hounds, and was close to them 

 to pick up his fox when they rolled him over. On Friday Decem- 

 ber 1 8th, and Saturday, December 19th, Lord Stamford's hounds 

 enjoyed some very quick runs ; and on the latter day Mr. Little 

 Gilmour had a bad fall through some one crossing him at a fence, 

 that being the third he had had during the season from the 

 same cause. 



The year 1858 opened with a good run or two, but 

 on the whole the season 1857-58 was voted a bad one. 

 On January 1 1 the hounds found one fox only, but they 

 simply raced him for about five-and-twenty minutes. On 

 that day Treadwell was riding a horse of Lady Stamford's, 

 his orders being- to stop at no fence whatever ; and so 

 well did Treadwell obey his instructions that he pounded 

 even Lord Gardner, not to mention others, at a flight of 

 double posts and rails. Lady Stamford was a fine and 

 bold horsewoman, and in 1859 a paragraph was published 

 in some of the newspapers which purported to be a 

 challenge from Lady Stamford to any other lady to ride 

 across country for ^"500 a side. This piece of absurdity 

 Lord Stamford at once contradicted in the press. 



There may possibly be some who hunted from Melton 

 in the fifties who remember Mary Anne Hinman, known 

 as the " Female Blacksmith." Of her own free will she 

 elected to follow her father's trade, and while she assisted 

 generally in the business, she was greatly in request for 

 shoeing, in which art she was an adept ; and it is said 

 that she shod half the best hunters in Melton. After a 

 short illness she died, early in April 1858, and was 

 buried in Melton churchyard, where can be seen (or 



