i6 SEVERE DAY FOR HOUNDS 



at last broke away over the vale for Blackland Copse, 

 through which he passed without lingering a moment, 

 and went straight across the Beckhampton Downs to 

 Wilcot, in Assheton Smith's country, where the hounds 

 were running into him in view, when he crept into a 

 rabbit-hole in the bank of a fir plantation, from which 

 they would have pulled him out by themselves, but I 

 was silly enough to listen to the entreaties of a friend to 

 spare his life, in the hopes of his affording us another good 

 gallop. We were then, past four o'clock on a wintry day, 

 more than thirty miles from the kennels, to which we had 

 to jog on without our fox's head, which the hounds had 

 so well merited. 



The other was from Beechwood on Lansdown, near 

 Bath, to Norwood, in Wiltshire, some six or seven miles 

 distant, back from this strong, thick covert to Beechwood 

 again, and off once more to Norwood, when, within 

 twenty yards of the wood, myself, hounds, and fox rolled 

 over the last hedge together, a large stake having run 

 into my horse's shoulder, which brought us both down. 

 This was an old dark-coloured fox, with a yellow instead 

 of a white throat, and out of a large field at starting there 

 were only three in at the finish, although the hounds met 

 them twice during this toilsome, hilly, and woodland 

 run ; and without the accident, I do not believe my horse 

 could have carried me a mile further. 



This was one of the most severe days' work for hounds 

 and horses that I can now call to mind ; from the fox 

 holding to the thickest coverts in his line, and running 

 over the most hilly part of the country, and with all his 

 windings and turnings I believe he must have traversed 

 at least thirty miles of ground. 



I once remember killing an entirely black fox, which 



