SOME ENGLISH COURSING CLUBS 197 



moisture hangs so much about the flats that poor puss's food 

 becomes far too soft, and she suffers accordingly. 



Occasionally a third meeting is held in iVEarch, but for the 

 reason just stated this has not taken place for the last two or 

 three seasons. Luckily for spectators of Altcar coursing, there 

 are plenty of high mud banks on which the crowd can be placed, 

 and although it is sometimes necessary to talte up one's position 

 on the dead level and in sloppy ground, this is the exception and 

 not the rule. 



THE BOTHAL CLUB 



Although little is now heard of this once celebrated club, it 

 is still in existence, and, thanks to three of its chief patrons, 

 the Hon. W. C. Ellis, Dr. Richardson of Harbottle, and Mr. 

 Nathaniel Dunn of Newcastle-on-Tyne, the coursing world 

 was placed in possession, some four or five years ago, of the 

 ' Bothal Club Stud Book,' an amusing and interesting work, 

 which dealt with north-country coursing generally, and the 

 Bothal Club in particular. The writer was luckily fortunate 

 enough to visit Bothal when the meetings were at their zenith, 

 some twenty years since, and in his opinion the place was then 

 quite unique as regards the amount of enthusiasm shown by 

 the natives. Even now, at the revived meetings, ' the crowd ' is 

 wonderfully large ; but the pernicious Ground Game Act has 

 done its deadly work here as elsewhere, and, in spite of the 

 efforts of Mr. Ellis and Mr. John Stott of Coneygarth, only 

 comparatively small programmes are now possible. 



Dealing with the history of the club, it must be mentioned 

 that the present society only came into existence in 1866, but 

 as the ground was simply first-rate, coursing had long been a 

 favourite sport of the district, and other clubs had previously 

 availed themselves of the permission granted by the Lord of 

 the Manor. Thus, we find in 'Thacker' that the Morpeth 

 Club held a meeting over the Bothal Barony in 1841, by per- 

 mission of the Rev. Mr. Parry, the rector, when Mr. Jobling 

 won a fifteen -dog stake, value eighty guineas. The Morpeth 

 Club at this period was a very powerful association of coursers. 



