74 
THE EISHING GAZETTE 
[February 4, 1893 
LEISTROM POOL, NEAR ARMA- 
THWAITE. 
The photogravure which we give this week is 
of a well-known salmon pool on the River Eden, in 
Cumberland, below Armathwaite. It is from a 
photograph by Mr. Fraser Sandeman, taken at 
the end of last October with a rapid symmetrical 
lens, by Ross, and two seconds’ exposure, f. 11. 
We believe that this pool is the scene of some of 
Mr. iSandeman’s fights with salmon,referred to in 
his book. It is also very good for trout. 
A FAMOUS FOX-HUNTER. 
Sportsmen generally, and especially hunting- 
men, who have read reminiscences of the life of 
the late Thomas Assheton Smith, will welcome 
a reprint of his memoirs; and those lovers 
of the chase who have not yet heard of that 
famous fox-hunter, will be glad to know there is 
a rare treat awaiting them in the new edition just 
published* of his exploits and prowess with 
horses and hounds. 
We have read this edition with great delight. 
Grovelly Copse, where they killed him, after a | 
run of nearly twenty miles. With incidents 
like these, and others even more extraordinary 
connected with hunting, the book simply 
bristles. 
Mr. Smith was the model of a British fox- ; 
hunter, and for exactly half a century a master i 
and owner of hounds. Of iron nerve and 
constitution, he was universally acknowledged ; 
the best, as he was the foremost, rider of his | 
day. 
On March 20, 1840, more than two thousand 
horsemen, some coming from remote counties— 
many of them men of the highest birth and 
station, men who had served their country in 
deeds of daring gallantry by sea and land, men 
who, in political or social life, were the most 
brilliant in repute—thronged to Rolleston, 
Leicestershire, to do honour to the premier fox- 
hunter of that time. Nor was this sport his only 
pursuit; besides being a classical scholar, warmly 
devoted to science, an excellent man of business, 
and a generous distributor of wealth, he was a 
crack shot, a noted pedestrian, and he excelled 
especially in cricket; his fondness for that noble 
game he long retained in after life, and he had au 
ardent love for all athletic exercises. 
he was in my way,” was the reply. “ Defend 
yourself,” was the rejoinder, and the coalheaver 
doffed his smock frock, while the squire buttoned 
up his coat and turned up his cuffs. At it they 
went with a hearty good will. For the first time 
in his life Tom Smith found he had got his match 
and something more to contend with, for the 
fellow stood six feet and weighed fourteen stone. 
There was no flinching on either side, and they 
followed each other up and down the street, ai 
closely as a loving couple in a country dance. 
The constables separated the combatants 
amidst the cheering of the crowd. “ You will 
! hear of me again,” said the squire to his resolute 
antagonist, as he mounted his horse and rode 
i quietly away, with two lovely black eyes. 
Although much punished, Mr. Smith went to 
dine wdth a friend, and told the story of his fight 
with great relish. 
On the following morning the squire’s groom 
was seen inquiring where tbe coalheaver lived. 
Ilis residence having been pointed out, the groom 
knocked at the door. At last it was opened by 
tbe coalheaver’s wife. “Does the man live here 
who fought the gentleman by the bank ? ” 
enquired the servant. 
' “lie did live here, if he is still alive,” replied 
LEISTROM POOL, NEAR ARMATHWAITE. 
A celebrated Salmon Pool on the Eilon.l [From a Photograph by Mr. Fraser Sandeman, 
and reluctantly laid the book occasionally aside 
after having commenced to peruse it. The pages 
teem with racy incidents of fox-hunting in 
Leicestershire, Lincolnshire, and elsewhere, and 
anecdotes of his associates—masters and men— 
who hunted with the Quorn, Craven, Melton 
Mowbray, and Tedworth Hounds, all of which 
packs he owned during his long career. 
Some of the “ runs ” were tremendous ; on one 
“ Belvoir Day ” with the Duke of Rutland’s 
hounds, the fox led them nineteen miles point- 
blank, and every other rider but Mr. Smith was 
beaten off. On another occasion, a fox found at 
Amesbury, Wilts, led for sixteen miles, and was 
killed; while yet another,/otmd that day, crossed 
the River Avon like an otter, and shaking his brush 
to the wind, made for Salisbury Plain, thence 
by Stonehenge. Many horses declined here, but 
tbe hounds were in full cry, heads up and sterns 
down, Mr. Smith leading on Gay Lass, with Bar¬ 
maid and Dairymaid close up. The fox passed 
through the village of Berwick to Wishford, 
crossed the River Wiley, ran up the hill to 
• “ A FamouH Fox-Huntor,” edited by the late Sir 
J. E. Kardley-Wilmot, Bart. Published by Sampson Low, 
Marston and Co., Limited. 
A splendid amateur boxer, he never was a 
bully, for a braver man never stepped on the 
earth, nor one who displayed in clearer colours, 
the thorough courage of a true-bred Briton. 
As a youth, his Eton career was rendered 
memorable by his famous battle with Jack 
Musters ; it was for years afterwards spoken of 
by Etonians as one of the most hard-fought and 
severe contests, ever recorded in the annals of 
youthful pugilism. 
These young champions were so equally 
matched, that their protracted struggle of an 
hour and a half ended in a drawn battle; the 
most perfect harmony and friendship existed 
between them ever afterwards. 
His skill in pugilistic encounters, and his 
determined courage in standing up against 
superior strength often served him in good stead. 
On one occasion, when about to enter a banking- 
house at Leicester, he hitched his horse’s bridle 
over the iron rails in front of the bank. While 
he was inside, his horse stood across the street, 
and a coalheaver, coming by with his cart, gave 
the nag a flanker with his whip, w’hich nearly 
made the nag jump into the bank window. 
This brought out the squire. “ Why did you 
strike my horse ? ” was the inquiry. “ Because 
the poor woman, “after the terrible beating he 
got yesterday.” 
Groans were heard from a bed on which the 
man was lying, fearing an arrest for striking the 
squire. The groom made the man happy by 
saying, “ Mr. Smith has sent me to give you this 
five-pound note, and to tell you that you are the 
best man that ever stood before him.” 
“ God bless his honour,” exclaimed the fellow, 
jumping out of bed, being greatly relieved by 
this unexpected and fortunate turn of events. 
“ Thank him a thousand times ; I dearly earned 
the money, for your master’s blows are like the 
[ kick of a horse; but for all that, to show my 
gratitude, please tell him that 1 will fight him 
again, any day, for lot'e.” 
Born in 1776, he succeeded Lord Foley in 1806 as 
Master of the Q uorn 11 ounds, an d continued to hunt 
regularly until two years before his death, in 18oS, 
at the age of eighty-two. Alfred Jardine. 
A Sermon in Itself. — An English preacher 
the other day rather startled his congregation, 
which included several stock brokers, by saying, 
“Now the devil took him up into a higli 
mountain and showed him—20 per cent.” 
