Great Coursing Grounds. 371 



course as long as possible. Ground, where it was 

 almost impossible to kill a hare, has been selected for 

 a bye ; and once, to the judge's bitter indignation, the 

 beaters were actually ordered back a mile, that " a 

 very dangerous stranger" might run among flints. The 

 admirers of the " steadying" principle did once suc- 

 ceed, as they thought, in gruelling a crack, but he 

 warmed up wonderfully next day, and although the 

 hare ran away from both in the decider, he got farthest 

 up the hill at the finish and won. 



The Ridgway Club holds four meetings in the year 

 — one at Ridgway ; two (open) at Lytham, where the 

 Clifton Arms is their head quarters ; and one (open) 

 at Southport, where they hail from the Bold Arms. 

 Lytham is seven miles from Ridgway, and separated 

 from it by the Ribble. When the 168 Dog Stake was 

 run for at Southport, and Rocket ran up for it as well 

 as for the Waterloo Cup, there was no coursing at 

 Lytham ; and Crosstown meadows, two miles south 

 of Southport, where the stake finished, afforded some 

 rare trials. The great, soft, grey hare, which is bred 

 on the black earth near Marton Mere, lower down, is 

 not so good ; but the Churchtown meadows have the 

 advantage of the brown sea-side hares, which are 

 driven from a strip of meadow and plough, on sandy 

 soil, by the side of the road. Mr. Knowles lives at 

 Lytham, and lends much life to the sport ; and so 

 does Mr. Hardman, the owner of the manor of Gis- 

 borne. The latter has been for thirteen years chair- 

 man of the Ridgway Club, and is as felicitous a 

 speaker as he is a good fisherman, shot, and courser. 

 The stubbles are very deep, both at Lytham and 

 Southport ; and the Lytham pastures have the advan- 

 tage of some rare moss hares, among which "John o' 

 Podd's," who lives at the bottom of the moss, had a 

 mighty renown. The Ridgway Club judging is always 

 done from a ladder eight feet high, as the ground is 

 too soft to ride. Mr. Nightingale never could bear 

 B B 2 



