SEASON 1889-90 231 



Grimsthorpe, and killed after a good hunt. In- 

 goldsby Wood supplied the second, who gave a 

 capital gallop to Humby, away to the left of 

 Boothby Hall, where Major Longstaffe gave the 

 lead over the brook, and kept it till we reached 

 Stoke Tunnel. Here the good gallop ended, for 

 we changed to a fresh line, though I saw our 

 beaten fox cross the middle ride of Stoke Park 

 Wood, but could not get the hounds back before 

 he had gone, leaving no scent." 



The weight of a fox is often a matter for dis- 

 cussion, and Gillard records a big mangy dog-fox, 

 killed by hounds, which turned the scale at 17J 

 pounds. " That was, I think, one of the biggest 1 

 ever handled," he remarked, "the Aswarby foxes 

 being hard to beat for weight." 



Amongst good days, that of February 22nd must 

 take a place, for finding at Melton Spinney, hounds 

 ran for fifty minutes to Holwell Mouth. Changing 

 foxes there, they ran for an hour and fifteen minutes 

 back to Melton Spinney, going on to Thorpe Ashes, 

 past Chadwell and Goadby Gorse, finishing a hunt 

 of two hours with all the horses done up, the first 

 whip having to leave his at Scalford all night. 



A damaged leg and frost kept Gillard out of the 

 saddle for ten days at the end of February, but we 

 were not without excitement, for the election of the 

 Stamford division of Lincolnshire was in full swine', 

 through the promotion of Mr. John Compton 

 Lawrance to the judge's bench. The two candi- 

 dates, Mr. Cockayne Cust and Mr. Arthur Priestly, 

 were both well-known followers of the hunt, it was 



