FOX-HUNTING

PAST & PRE SENT

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JOHNA.SEAVERNS

lUHb UNIVtMbllY LIUHAHibb

3 9090 014 533 752

Webster Famiiy Library of Veterinary Medicine

Cuniminos School of Vetsrinary Medicine at

TufiS University

200 Westboro Road

Norili Grafton, MA 01536 ,.^^

"Boston '^Maii. 02)14

FOX-HUNTING VAST & 'PRESENT

LORD LONSDALE, M.F.H. THE COTTESMORE
(Photograph by Messrs. Mayall &■ Co.. Ltd., 73 PiccadiUy, IK)

FOX-HUNTING

PAST ^ PRESENT

BT R. H. CARLISLE

{"HAWK ETE," LATE H™ P.W.O. REGIMENT)

WITH EIGHT FULL-PAGE
ILLUSTRATIONS ^ ^ *

** Not HandeV s snveet music delighteth the ear^
So much as the hounds in full cry "

LONDON: JOHN LANE, THE BODLET HEAD \
NEW YORK: JOHN LANE CO MP ANT. MCMVIII

Printed by Ballantyne, Hanson &= Co.
At the Ballantyne Press, Edinburgh

PREFACE

It is patent to any readers of this work, that
one double or treble the size could easily have
been compiled dealing with "The Sport of
Kings " ; these salient features, concerning " Sport
with Horse and Hound," have been discussed
as ^* Fox-hunting Past and Present," with the hope
that they may interest the few, if not the many,
by the author.

London, 1908.

CONTENDS

CHAP. PAGE

I. Fox-hunting in the Twentieth Century i

II. The Origin of Fox-hunting — A Glimpse
AT Melton to-day and as it was in

its Infancy 8

III. The Quorn Hunt i8

IV. The Master of Hounds .... 30
V. The Cost of Hunting .... 40

VI. The Horse and the Country to Select 47

VII. Hunters and their Stables • • • 55

VIII. Feeding and Conditioning of Hunters,

and some Remarks on Saddlery . . 60

IX. Hunting Centres 68

X. Some Axioms and Sayings of the Chase 73

XI. Stag-hunting 81

XII. Cub-hunting and After — Beckford and

NiMROD ....... 89

vii i

Contents

CHAP. PAGE

XIII. The Hunting-field : its Manners, and

Discipline ...... 103

XIV. Some Noted Foxhounds . . . .108

XV. Straight Talks on Hunt Subscriptions —
Enthusiasm of New Blood — the Status
OF Shire and Province .... 122

XVI. Statistics of the Present Day . . 130
APPENDICES .143

Vill

LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS

Lord Lonsdale, M.F.H., the Cottes-
more ....... Frontispiece

"Squire" Osbaldeston, M.F.H., the

QuoRN, 1817-1821 AND 1823-1827 To face page 10

Captain Forester, M.F.H., the Quorn „ „ 20

The Marquis of Zetland, K.P. . . „ ,, 32

John Winter, "an Old Time" Hunts-
man TO THE LATE RaLPH LaMBTON,

Esq., Durham, 1804-1838 . . • » >, 76

Mr. C. F. p. McNeill, M.F.H., the

Grafton . . . ...,,„ 90

Lord Willoughby de Broke . . . „ ,, no

"The Badminton Sweep what Hunts
with the Duke," about 1833, ^^•
EIGHTH Duke of Beaufort . . „ ,, 138

IX

FOX-HUNTING

TAS'T &f TRESENr

CHAPTER I

FOX-HUNTING IN THE TWENTIETH CENTURY

" Here's many a year to you !

Sportsmen who've ridden life straight.
Here's all good cheer to you !
Luck to you early and late.

Here's to the best of you !

You with the blood and the nerve.
Here's to the rest of you !

What of a weak moment's swerve ?
Face the grim fence, gate, or wall again :

Ride hard and straight in the van,
Life is to dare and deserve ! "
1908.

It is generally admitted that the conditions under
which hunting is carried on have materially-
altered ; however, there were never more rich
men engaged in the sport than now. Every one
knows that fox-hunting is more expensive than it
used to be, and the subscription should be the
most important and carefully considered item of
every man's hunting outlay.

Fox-hunting Past mid Present

Pessimists have from time to time averred that
the sport is doomed and its days numbered to
twenty-five years. Sixty odd years ago the same
was prophesied. So far, railways have not ended
the sport. Wire-fencing has come more into
vogue, and pheasant-rearing in some countries is
of colossal proportions, and the fox is not every-
where held in the same veneration as formerly.
To counterbalance all this, however, the farmer
is treated in a much more business-like manner
than formerly : his wishes and his claims for
poultry damage are listened to with a ready ear ;
also his damage to crops, if any, and these should be
few. *' Ware wheat ! " How often do you not hear
it, or, rather, should you not hear it, in the early
spring ? Then there are many men who will also
buy their forage from the county farmers. Then
there are many counties where the hunting feeling
is paramount, and vulpicide execrated. Here, how-
ever, you would probably note that pheasant-
rearing on any large scale is not attempted. Then,
say, forty miles farther on, you will find the
opposite state of affairs exists. Things go on
fairly smoothly here for a time, perchance, as the
system of ''putting down" foxes obtains in this
country or hunt, call it which you like. A keeper
here would own up to fox-destroying. Men,
however, in good positions in a county have
before now been branded with the stigma of

FoX'himting in the Twentieth Century

vulpicide — even lost elections and left their home
thereby. The country that possesses fox-hunting
and game-preserving, swinging in the balance of
popularity, also offers food for thought. It really
behoves both sections to meet each other half-
way. All M.F.H.'s usually respect shooters' wishes
as to drawing coverts.

Many packs have to confine their autumn hunt-
ing to districts not shot over, where pheasants are
scarce. Hounds, in some hunts, are not taken to
coverts that are doubtful, which does not pay,
as it encourages vulpicide. The master and his
followers therefore require to exercise much tact
and diplomacy. Hunt balls, point to point races,
hunt breakfasts, and hunt dinners help to smooth
down much of the friction. Capping, though not
universal, has had to be introduced, especially in
the larger and more important hunts which are
greatly visited by strangers. Then there is the
*' minimum subscription " to be paid by all
members of a hunt. Where this is very high
the sport becomes one entirely for the rich. Take,
for instance, a man with one horse, where the
minimum subscription is £^0 ; that is in the
Quorn country. Many others range from £2^ to
£^^. This works out, in the former instance, at
£1 per day, for the a,verage hunter does not do
much more than twenty days per season, taking into
account the chance of being laid up by illness,

3

Fox-hmiting Past and Present

lameness, sore back, or other complaints. There-
fore it is only feasible there should be a sliding
scale in favour of residents who cannot in justice
pay the full amount. In many provincial districts
there is a poultry and damage fund, and to this
men who are not members, or who hunt but
seldom, can and do pay.

In some counties there is not so much hunting
with neighbouring packs as there used to be. I
mean in the case of meets on the borders of two
hunts, so that the hunting-man is expected to
subscribe to each pack they hunt with. This
hits keen hunting-men in the Midlands very hard,
who hunted and subscribed to a pack and took
occasional days with others. At Melton, Market
Harborough, Rugby, and Leamington, Leicester,
and Oakham also, those hunting five or six days a
week have to subscribe to three or four packs.
Capping has not brought in much money, but it
has checked the size of the fields. It is not a
hunting rent at all, but to lessen the damage to
fences and land. It guarantees that all who do
hunt pay for their sport.

I must needs recount you here a few reflections
on the longevity of hunting-men and records
they have made. Any one who wants to peruse
a splendid record of hunting achievements I com-
mend to Col. Anstruther-Thomson's ^' Eighty Years'

Reminiscences ; " a masterpiece in its way. The

4

Fox-hunting in the Twentieth Century

doyen of masters in his day, I need hardly say
they have been equalled but by few, surpassed
by none. However, I pass on to others forthwith.
This season Mr. Knott attended his seventy-fourth
opening meet of the Bicester pack at Fenny
Compton Wharf ; his memory must therefore go
back to the day when the first Mr. Tyrwhitt
Drake hunted this pack. Here is another in-
stance : Mr. J. T. Powell attended the sixty-
second opening meet of the Tedworth, so he can
recall the famous ^'Assheton Smith" as M.F.H.
in this county. Every country has its ^* Father
of the Hunt," though he may be consigned to
seeing the ''best of the fun" on wheels. I well
remember the late Mr. George Lane-Fox riding
to his Bramham Moor hounds in the late eighties.
He must have been then nearly seventy. The
Vale of Lime Hunt has a follower, Mr. R. Gillow,
aged ninety-eight ; and Mr. R. Abbot of the
Bilsdales is ninety-three or ninety-four. So there
is abundant proof that, barring accident, hunting
is conducive to long life, health, and happiness.

I remember the late Mr. John Lawrence, formerly
M.F.H. of the Llangibby, lived to ninety-four,
though unable to ride to hounds during the last
six or seven years of his life. This is the next
country to the Monmouthshire. Mr. W. E.
Curre being now master, his brother, Mr. J. Curre,
is huntsman. Mr. Lawrence's hunting career, it

5

Fox-hunting Past and Present

is estimated, totalled seventy-six years, his first

hunting connection being the Cwmbran harriers.

Anyhow, at Biggleswade Mr. G. Race still keeps

a pack of harriers, and started his sixty-seventh

season this year (1906-1907) as M.H. ; so his is a

record. He has passed the late Mr. ]. Crosier's

total seasons, viz. sixty-four, with the Blencathra,

a wild Cumberland country. No longer an M.F.H.,

Mr. R. Watson has nearly sixty seasons to his

credit with the Carlow foxhounds. But he can

still hold his own with the Meath's, where that

doyen of polo-players, his son, Mr. J. Watson, holds

the reins of management. There is a wish that

many of those good sportsmen to hounds to-day

may celebrate their jubilees in due course ; such

as the late Mr. Garth did, who had half a century's

mastership before retirement ; Mr. T. W Knolles,

M.F.H. in South Union, Ireland, fifty years or

more ; Mr. E. Trewlett, in Devonshire, a like

period in the Rev. ]. Russell's time. Then, from

1 806-1858 Mr. Farquharson hunted a large tract

of country, comprising South Dorset, much of the

Blackmore Vale, and Cattistock — six days a week

at his own expense ; Mr. Boothby holds the

Quorn record of fifty-five years, and Mr. ]. Warde

was M.F.H. of so many counties for nearly as long.

Mr. Assheton Smith was an M.F.H. for fifty years

in all.

It is possible for many men who are not hard

6

Fox-htinting in the Twentieth Century

riders to hunt and enjoy it, and be fairly efficient
M.F.H.'s and perhaps huntsmen. In some cases
masters who do not jump are to be found
in a flying county ; they sometimes increase their
pack's speed. The sportsmen above alluded to,
although in the minority among hunting-men, in-
clude many whose knowledge of hounds and the
sport is of the highest. There are four classes of
hunting men, roughly. Those who hunt to ride.
Those who ride to hunt, and ride hard, see the best
of the sport, are the cream of the field and the most
permanent members of the community. Then
there are those who love hunting, cannot stay
away but hardly ever see a run through — they
may jump, but do not gallop. In the evening
they bewail their luck, nerve, or resolution. Lastly
there are those who never jump, and acknowledge
they do not intend to do so. Many of them see
a good deal of sport, and are generally up at the
finish, for they study the country, the foxes' and
the hounds' idiosyncrasies. The moral therefore is,
when you find your nerves fail, and the favourite
hunter does not give confidence, study gates and
gaps, and make up your mind never to jump
at all. Then you may take an active part in
hunting till you are no longer able to mount a
horse.

CHAPTER II

THE ORIGIN OF FOX-HUNTING— A GLIMPSE AT
MELTON TO-DAY AND AS IT WAS IN ITS
INFANCY

" What sports can compare to the sports of the field ?
Full lasting and choice are the blessings they yield ;
Sure the gods were resolved when they fashioned the hare,
To favour mankind in a manner quite rare."

— Sporting Magazine^ 1 793.

The flight of society to the shires in such numbers
is substantial proof of what fox-hunting is to the
country. Some years have elapsed since a writer
made out an estimate of nine millions per annum
spent on hunting. This sum appears to be pro-
digious, and so, indeed, it is, if only applied to
kennel establishments. There are 204 packs of
hounds in the United Kingdom, of which some
could show an expenditure of ;^io,ooo a year, and
many over ^^4000. This is, however, but the small
side of the total costs, as many thousand studs of
hunters are maintained, representing an enormous
amount of money, with veritable armies of em-
ployees, mansions of almost the proportions of
palaces in nearly every quarter of England, Ireland,
and Scotland, and a trade thereby in provincial

towns that must of necessity be of considerable

8

The Origin of Fox-hunting

magnitude. A morning view of Melton is quite
suggestive of this computation of ^^9,000,000, as at
an early hour there will be whole troops of hunters
passing up the town for exercise, and inquiry tells
you to whom this or that lot belong. They seem
as numerous as the thoroughbreds in High Street,
Newmarket, and you are led to believe also that
they are nearly as valuable. You walk out of the
hotel before breakfast, and ask about the various
big houses dotted about on all sides, and hear that
this one has been taken by a foreign prince with a
fabulous fortune, and that his stud numbers thirty.
A little farther on you ask again, and the reply
gives the name of a well-known millionaire ; and
then there is the residence of a noble lord, who has
done the right thing at Melton for many seasons.
Every house let on tenancy appears to be taken,
and many others belong to their owners as hunt-
ing-boxes for the season. All the apartments in
the hotels will be full by the second week in
November, and lodgings of every kind will then be
at a premium. Everything in the near preparation
of the Melton season indicates immense wealth,
and duplicates of the same in smaller degrees are
Leamington, Cheltenham, Rugby, York, Grantham,
Cirencester, and other centres from which ladies
and gentlemen can get their six days' hunting a
week.

The conditions that have altered the whole tone

9

Fox-hunting Past and Present

of society, and perhaps the very constitution of
the country, belong to no very remote times. A
hundred and fifty years ago there were generations
of nobles and squires who lived on their own acres
and were satisfied with a visit once or twice a year
to London or York. They shot and hunted over
their estates in a quiet sort of way, lived well, and
were inclined to much hospitality, but there it
ended. It would appear from records that a Mr.
Thomas Noel first conceived the idea of going
where he pleased over territories in which he was
not in the least concerned, but with, apparently,
no hindrance from owners or tenants. He hunted
periodically over Leicestershire, Warwickshire, and
part of Derbyshire, until some division of responsi-
bility was ceded to Mr. T. Boothby, the acknow-
ledged first Master of the Quorn. It was all a very
slow order of hunting, though. The drag of a fox
was generally found at daybreak, and hunted up to
his lair, or, otherwise, if found later, he might be
hunted all day. A very wealthy young gentleman
failed to see anything very exhilarating in this sort
of sport, and believed that something more could
be made of the hounds then in use. This gentle-
man was Mr. Hugo Meynell, and records determine
that he was only nineteen at the time he took upon
himself the responsibilities of M.F.H. At any rate
he soon succeeded in breeding a much faster
hound than had been seen before, and he had also

lO

The Origin of Fox-hunting

many contemporaries in the next twenty years
(which brought the date up to 1770) who were
quite as keen about hound-breeding as himself
— Mr. Charles Pelham, afterwards first Lord Yar-
borough, Lord Granby, Sir Roland Winn, Sir
Thomas Gascoign, Sir Walter Vavasour, Mr.
Willoughby, and Mr. E. Legard forming quite a
little band in giving their strenuous efforts towards
the improvement of the foxhound. Mr. Hugo
Meynell, though, was the first to give the foxhound
the opportunity to show his true character in
hunting a fox. He was observant of the forward
cast, and when hounds raced on a line the fox in
front of them went straighter and faster. The
dash of the foxhound was thus assured, and the
try back of the southern hound or harrier entirely
superseded. Then, again, Mr. Meynell devised
how hounds should be ridden to. Always driving
in front, there was nothing to prevent horsemen
living with them, and so came about the boldness
and skill in getting over a country that has been
unique to the Briton born. Melton became the
metropolis of the new system by about 1780, when
men were riding harder than Mr. Meynell alto-
gether liked, as they rode over his hounds. The
sport, though, had become immensely popular and
was spreading everywhere. Foxhounds, by their
deeds in the field, had got into extraordinary

repute, and it appeared to be pretty generally

II

Pox-hunting Past and Present

understood that they could beat horses both for
speed and stamina. In the general furore con-
cerning them came about the matches towards the
end of the century, when Mr. Meynell backed
some of his hounds to run against those of Mr.
Barry, a Cheshire sportsman, over four miles at
Newmarket on a drag. Enough was seen to show
that hounds are faster than horses, as only three
horsemen out of sixty were with them at the finish,
but, fortunately for posterity, Mr. Meynell was not
satisfied with the way in which his hounds were
beaten, and so the matchmaking in which hounds
were concerned went very little farther.

It was fortunate also that a number of enthusi-
astic sportsmen went in for hunting and hound-
breeding, as if it was one of the first duties of man,
and thought of little else. The consequence was
a continued improvement in hounds under such
disciples of the chase as Lord Darlinton, Lord
Vernon, Lord Monson^ Lord Middleton, Colonel
Thornton, Mr. John Warde, Mr. John Musters, and
Mr. Corbet. It may be regarded as somewhat
extraordinary that men of great social position
should have almost spent their lives in hunting
and the culture of hounds, and that their examples
were closely followed by others of a later genera-
tion that counted Assheton Smith, Lord Henry
Bentinck, Osbaldeston, and Mr. G. S. Foljambe,
but it must be said of all that they created the

12

The Origin of Fox-himting

power of the foxhound, and there is much to show
that a good deal of England's greatness is due
to that influence. The daring deeds under the
greatest difficulties in the Peninsular War, the
important conquests all over the globe with mere
handfuls of men, and the hardihood of our earliest
colonists came about after the hard-riding era had
commenced, and the Iron Duke always insisted
that his best officers were the first flight men of
Leicestershire and Lincolnshire, and he gave his
opinion that Assheton Smith would have been
the best cavalry general in the world. Then,
again, the horses were improved by Hugo Meynell's
discovery of that forward dash of the foxhound,
and by its subsequent development, as no one
could have believed in the manner of horses getting
over a country unless it had been for that system
of following hounds at high pressure. The horses
were as much elated by the voice of the hound in
full cry as the men, and to jump quite extra-
ordinary fences that could not have been taken in
cool blood stamped the character of the English
hunter and made him really the utility horse for all
nations. The country was therefore enriched by
foreign trade, and it can certainly be all traced to a
system that strangers have always considered very
remarkable. Frenchmen declare that it would
have been out of all reason to establish a free-and-
easy, go-as-you-please policy such as has been

13

FoX'hMnting Past and Present

attributed to Mr. Thomas Noel, and still more so
that it has continued ever since. Anthony TroUope
in one of his charming romances depicts the
astonishment of the American, that because people
hunted they could go over lands of others as if it
all belonged to them. The national respect for the
foxhound has had much to do with it, though. He
is bred at the kennels, but in many cases belongs
to the hunting country in which his lot is cast,
then he is walked by a member of the hunt, or
more frequently by a friend of the same, one of
those who have no objection to their lands being
ridden over. In the times of Assheton Smith, and
even in those of Lord Henry Bentinck, the pups'
walking was all done for honour and glory, but of
late years three or four silver cups were presented
to those who rear the best. This new development
has added to the spirit of the cause. A couple
or three years back a puppy was taken by an old
stone-breaker in Lord Middleton's hunt. The
little thing in her small days would lie upon his
coat all day on a near heap of stones, sharing his
bread and cheese at noon, and certain of a good
supper at night. She proved the best of the bitch
entry, and the cup went to the stone-breaker.
Lord Middleton kindly thought that a five-pound
note would be more acceptable than the cup,
and so sent that proposal. ^^Na, na," said the

road-maker, " I might spend the money, but the

14

The Origin of Fox-htmting

coup I'll keep in memory of her." This is the
English view in all classes towards the foxhound,
and he is no ordinary animal to be the national
favourite. He has been brought to wonderful
perfection in beauty and frame ; he is quite un-
tireable ; foxes may run for miles through parishes
and almost counties, to bring horses to every kind
of grief and distress, but the hounds will not be
beaten. They will be always showing the same
dash over plough or pasture, ridge or furrow, and
leave every kind of fence behind them, amid a
music of their own which is charming.

Other countries have hounds, mostly poor drafts
from England, but they are not at all the same as
the genuine coin of this kingdom, and, moreover,
foreigners cannot breed foxhounds. The shades of
Hugo Meynell, G. S. Foljambe, Assheton Smith,
and Lord Henry Bentinck have never departed,
and their followers may now be more numerous
than ever, but, like communities of mankind, the
foxhounds themselves are in various degrees of
character and individualism, and this has been
fully understood and appreciated by the past-
masters who have bred them. Mr. Corbet, in a
long experience, believed in his day that nothing
could touch Trojan in any part of a run or for his
extraordinary intelligence, and Lord Middleton
(Lord Henry, as he was always called) was gener-
ous to a degree in giving away good hounds ; but

15

Fox-himting Past mtd Prese^tt

when it came to Vanguard, the best he thought he
had ever hunted, he declared he was much too
good to give away to any one. Osbaldeston was
so enraptured with Furrier that, years after he had
reHnquished the horn and the saddle, he would
start at the very mention of the name if even play-
ing an interesting game of billiards, and then
nothing would get him off Furrier. Lord Henry
Bentinck was never emotional, but when coming
in his diary to Contest he says : ** A most remark-
able hound, that could not well do wrong." Then
there was old Harry Ayris, so long with the Lord
Fitzhardinge's. He would seemingly forget gout
and old age at a question about Cromwell, as he
showed you his skin on which he rested his feet.
The best hound in the world — there was never
another like him. He would find a fox if there
was one within a mile of him, and go to the front
to put them right everywhere. You could not get
him off the line of Cromwell in an afternoon, as he
would tell you of the death of the old earl, and
how he was ordered to take up two couples to his
bedside just before he died, and although Cromwell
was only a second-season hunter he took him up,
and the old lord just looked up and said, *' There
could not be better ones, Harry," and those were
his last words. ^' I saw he was sinking. I feared
I might hurt him, so bundled the hounds out as

quick as I could, choked as I was with grief."

i6

The Origin of Fox-hunting

There was Smith of the Broklesby, too, with his
love for the foxhound that had its place at his
death as he murmured softly to his son, ''Stick to
Ranter." There are those still alive who have the
same feelings. Lord Coventry would almost hesi-
tate in any conversation at the very mention of
Rambler. Mr. E. Rawnsley, the Master of the
Southwold for a quarter of a century, would show
commendable feeling in referring to Freeman, and
Frank Gillard would talk for a day about the merits
of the Belvoir Weather-gage. What is it that
brings the foxhound so close to the heart of the
sportsman ? Is it not the same influence that
started the breed early in the seventeen-hundreds,
and maintained it through generations of enthu-
siasts, the like of Charles Pelham, John Corbet,
John Warde, Lord Middleton, and Assheton Smith,
and the question is — Would fox-hunting have
grown to what it is without them ?

17 B

CHAPTER III

THE QUORN HUNT

" Next Dick Knight and Smith Assheton we spy in the van.
Riding hard as two furies at catch that catch can.
' Now, Egmont,' says Assheton,
'Now, contract,' says Dick ;

* By gosh ! these d d Quornites shall now see the trick.'

No Northamptonshire hunters for me."

A Mr. Boothby of Tooley Park, Leicestershire,
first commenced to hunt this country at his own
expense from 1698 to 1753. In that almost '^pre-
historic age " hounds changed hands but seldom.
The present Quorn country forms a part of this
country. However, the immortal Meynell estab-
lished the glory of the Quorn hounds and his
forty-seven years' mastership in 1753. The hounds
then were kept at Great Bowden Inn, on the
borders of Northamptonshire ; the master, or joint-
masters (Mr. Boothby bore half the burden of
the expenses) lived then at Langton Hall. A little
later Mr. Meynell removed to Quorndon Hall, and
thence the pack took its famous name. In those
days there were no woodlands within the limits of
the country, and so Meynell used to stoop his
hounds to hare in the spring to keep them handy

for fox in October. This did not, as may be

18

The Onorn Hunt

imagined, result in universal steadiness. ^^The
Druid " tells a story of a brilliant burst of twenty
minutes after a hare ending with a kill on the
turnpike road. ^^Ah !" observed the philosophical
master, ^^ there are days when they will hunt any-
thing." Lord Sefton followed Meynell, and did
things in an imperial manner, with two packs and
two huntsmen, and everything on like scale. His
lordship was the first to introduce the custom of
second horsemen. He was a very heavy man, and
stopped for nothing, so that no horse could live
under him for more than ten minutes if hounds
ran hard. But he had a grand stud, nearly all
thoroughbred and as large as dray-horses; and
with three or even four out at a time he managed
to hold his own with the light-weights. Then arose
the star of Melton, which still shines, if not with
quite such supreme lustre. From 1805 to 1807
Lord Foley was king, and then came the great
Assheton Smith, who ruled for ten years, and was
succeeded by '^Squire" Osbaldeston. In 182 1
Osbaldeston went into Hampshire, changing
quarters with Sir Bellingham Graham ; but the
change did not last long, and in 1823 ^^the Squire "
was back in Quorndon, Sir BelHngham going into
the Albrighton country.

Both Assheton Smith and Osbaldeston hunted
their own hounds, and in that capacity Dick
Christian, who, thanks to '^The Druid," is our

19

Fox-httntmg Past and Present

main authority for those golden days, did not
think very nobly of either of them. The former
drew his coverts too quickly, and so ^Mrew over
his fox scores of times." Also, " he was very un-
certain : sometimes he would not lift his hounds
at all," and, adds the veteran, ^^you must lift,
and lose no time if you want runs in Leicester-
shire with those big fields." One quality, how-
ever, he had, sure to have been appreciated by
those big, eager fields : ^' he was always for being
away as quick as possible." It was his maxim that
the best fox always broke first ; and after the first
that broke off he would go, often with only three
or four couples of hounds. This, no doubt,
entailed a tremendous burst, but at the first check
as often as not the run was spoiled. '' The Squire "
seems to have been still more ^' uncertain." ^^ He
was the oddest man you ever saw at a covert-side.
He would talk for an hour : then he would half
draw, and talk again, and often blow his horn
when there was no manner of occasion — always
so chaffy." But he is allowed to have been
"very keen of the sport," and to have got away
with his fox "like a shot"; while, for sheer
riding, his great rival Dick vowed, " no man
that ever came into Leicestershire could beat
Mr. Smith ; I don't care what any of them
says." The pick of the country is to be had

from Melton.

20

CAI'T. V. FOHESIEK, M.F.H. (JL'OKN
( Photograph by Mr. J. Herbert ll'ilson, Leicester and Coalville )

The Qiiorn Hunt

Lord Southampton followed ^' the Squire." He
bought the Oakley pack in 1829, built new kennels
at Leicester, and the hounds were called after his
name instead of by their own title. To him suc-
ceeded Sir Harry Goodriche, and he paid all ex-
penses out of his own pocket. He, too, built new
kennels at Thrussington, midway between Melton
and Leicester, and a much more convenient place
than the latter. His early death in 1833 left the
hounds to Mr. Francis Holyoake, who subse-
quently took the name of Goodriche. In his
time a part of the Quorn country was handed
over to the second Marquis of Hastings, who
started the Donnington country, afterwards hunted
by Lord Ferrers. Two seasons were enough for
Mr. Holyoake, and three for Mr. Errington. His
next successor. Lord Suffield, spent a great deal
of money, building new kennels and stabling at
Billesdon, giving Mr. Lambton 3000 guineas for
his hounds. But the sport, for some cause or
another, was not equal to the cost, and after one
season he gave place to Mr. Hodgson of Holder-
ness fame, who brought his hounds with him from
Yorkshire. It was in his reign that Assheton
Smith, then in his sixty-fifth year, brought his
hounds from Tedworth for a fortnight into
Leicestershire. The opening day was at Rolle-
ston Hall, when it is calculated upwards of 2000

people were present ; an historic meet this was.

21

Fox-himting Past and Present

After Mr. Hodgson came Mr. Greene of Rolleston,
a fine sportsman, who figures in the great
^' Quarterly " run as skimming over the Whissen-
dine on his bay mare, *^ like a swallow on a
summer's evening." In 1847 Sir Richard Sutton
succeeded him ; he had won a great name in
the Burton and Cottesmore countries. In 1857
the latter took the Donnington country back,
and then finding the whole rather too large to
be properly hunted by one pack, he handed a
part of it over to his son, Mr. Richard Sutton,
building him kennels at Skeffington.

No man ever showed better sport in Leicester-
shire than Sir Richard, and when he died at
the beginning of the season of 1855, it was a
bad day for the Quorn. Young Sir Richard and
Captain Frank Sutton finished the season, and
then Lord Stamford came to the front, with a pack
composed largely of old hounds and a good draft
from Mr. Anstruther-Thomson's kennels, whose
memoirs we have lately read. In this mastership
Mr. Tailby took a portion of the Quorn country
together with part of the Cottesmore, and showed
rare sport up to 1871, when the latter, according
to agreement, reverted to its original lords, and
Mr. Tailby continued for some seasons longer to
content himself with two days a week in the
diminished province now governed by Sir Bache

Cunard. After Lord Stamford, who kept the

22

The Qiiorn Hunt

hounds for seven seasons, Mr. Clowes followed
for three ; and then came the reign of the Marquis
of Hastings, which lasted for two. Mr. Musters
came next, with a good pack of hounds out of
South Nottinghamshire. After three years he
divided his country with Mr. Coupland, and after
two more took his pack with him back to his
own country, and Mr. Coupland was left to his
own resources. He w^as unlucky at first, having
bought the Craven pack, voted slow for Leicester-
shire. But the famous Tom Firr came to him in
1872 from the North Warwickshire, and matters
soon became more lively. Mr. Coupland managed
matters till the season of 1884-85, when Lord
Manners succeeded ; and so we pass from the
domain of history to more recent times when
Captain Warner came on the scenes for four
years, 1886-90, and joined hands with Mr. W. B.
Paget for three more.

Lord Lonsdale then rendered the pack sterling
service for five years ; his reign was a popular
one indeed. However, a worthy successor to him
was found in Captain Burns-Hartopp, who held
the reins of management from 1898-1904. After
suffering a severe hunting accident in the previous
season, he resigned, to the regret of very many.
Now, however, Lord Lonsdale has continued his
family connection as head of the historic Cottes-
more pack.

23

Pox-htmting Past and Present

Melton Mowbray is, of course, the cardinal
point of this famous hunting-ground, though not
the central one. There hounds are comparatively
close at hand every day in the week. It rarely
happens that a ride of ten miles at most will not
find them, and a ride to covert in Leicestershire
has been declared by an enthusiast to be better
than a run anywhere else in the world. From
this little paradise, isled in a sea of grass, you get
the Quorn on Mondays and Fridays ; on Tuesdays,
the Cottesmore ; on Wednesday, the Belvoir ; on
Thursday comes either a by-day with the Quorn
or one of Sir Bache Cunard's northern meets ; on
Saturday, the Belvoir and the Cottesmore are al-
ternately at your door. To take all the goods thus
lavishly provided a large stud is a necessity. True,
as " Brooksby " says, six thoroughly well-seasoned
nags, with the inevitable cast-iron hack (who must
both jump and gallop more than a bit) will carry
you through the season if you have luck, and here
and there a timely frost comes to help. Some
men can certainly get more out of one horse than
many can out of two. But even the cleverest and
most saving rider must lose much of the fun if he
makes Melton his headquarters with only six
hunters in his stable.

The best sport in this country comes generally

in the afternoon, when the coffee-housers have

gone home, and hounds have a chance. But

24

The Quorn Hunt

although you may have had no sport in the
morning, there has almost certainly been enough
work, what with trotting or galloping from
one covert to another, a short scurry here and
another there, to take the morning steel out of
your horse. Then what are you to do ? Go home
with the crowd, or stay and play second fiddle to
your happier fellows on their fresh horses ; or
come to inevitable grief in a brave attempt to show
them the way on your tired one ? As to not hunt-
ing every day from Melton, that never entered into
any human head. So, though undoubtedly Melton
was made for man to hunt from, it is not every
man (nor horse either) was made to hunt from
Melton.

It was quite in the right order of things that a
Forester should once more rule over a Leicester-
shire hunt. It is years ago since George, second
Lord Forester resigned the mastership of the
Belvoir hounds, after a reign which some regard
as the golden age of that historic hunt. In 1905
another Forester, a relative, too, of the famous
^' Cecil " and ^' George " Foresters of Melton fame,
became Master of the Quorn. Captain Frank
Forester, of Saxilbye Hall, was formerly in the 3rd
Hussars, and had been twice Master of Hounds of
the Limerick Hunt, and of the old Berkshire. He
is also well known as an owner of racehorses, and
won the Lincoln Handicap in 1904. But what

25

FoX'htmtmg Past and Present

was more to the purpose, he is a fine horseman,

and a front-rank man over a country. He is able

to restrain his field from the front, and all hunting

men know that '' keep back " is more effectual than

*^come back/' when thrusters have to be held in

check. On the committee that elected him were

his three predecessors, and none should know

better than they what is needed for a Master of

the Quorn. His fine judgment in, and knowledge

of, horse-flesh enables him to mount his men

well for a country that has grass and plough, hill

and plain, woodland and open. If he had no

property in the neighbourhood he had a family

connection with the town of Melton, which is said

to have been discovered by a Forester who wished

for a convenient hunting centre in the best of

the grass, and not too far from Belvoir Castle.

Captain Forester was born at Somerley in the

shires, and there as a boy he tasted the sweets of

fox-hunting. A cruel fall over the Punchestown

double, when he was in the 3rd Hussars, might

have cost Captain Forester his life. Happily

for the Quorn, however, this did not come to

pass.

These lines were penned by Mr. Bethel Cox

as an attribute to the famous Billesden Coplow

run of February 24, 1800. Four gentlemen only,

besides Jack Raven, the huntsman, saw the finish.

Mr. Hugo Meynell was then master.

26

The Qtiorn Hunt

" Two hours and a quarter, I think, was the time ;
It was beautiful — great — indeed 'twas sublime :
Not Meynell himself, the king of all men,
E'er saw such a chase, or will e'er see again.
Tom Smith in the contest maintained a good place ;
Tho' not first up at last, made a famous good race.
I'm sure he's no reason his horse to abuse.
Yet I wish he'd persuade him to keep on his shoes.
You must judge by the nags that were in at the end,
What riders to quiz, and what to commend."

Without any aspersion on the Quorn hunt field
of the present day — and the first-flighters are
quicker after hounds now than they were in
those days of long ago — I quote ^' Post and
Paddock/' by the Druid.

"The greatest riding period with the Quorn
was generally allowed to be that of Lords Jersey,
Germaine, and Forester, and Messrs. Cholmondeley
(afterwards Lord Delamere), Assheton Smith, Lin-
dow, and his twin-brother, Mr. Rawlinson. The
latter was as famous over Leicestershire on Spread
Eagle as he was on the turf. He won the Derby
with Coronation in 1841. Sir Henry and his
brother, Mr. Alfred RawHnson, are equally well
known at Hurlingham and Ranelagh to-day. The
latter especially as a member of the 17th Lancers
team and Freebooter's quartette.

"It used to be said that Mr. Rawlinson's riding

was the better for his horse, but that Mr. Lindow

sold his horses better." '^ Mr. Meynell was like

a regular little apple-dumpling on horseback ; Mr.

27

Fox-hunting Past and Present

Assheton Smith and Lord Forester, they were
the men for me. Lord Jersey, too, my word !
he was very good ; and Sir C. Knightley, he was
one of Lord Jersey's stamp. How he would go,
to be sure ! He would be with the hounds to see
them work. Blame me, but I've seen him at
the end of a run all blood and thorns. Mr.
Smith never galloped his horses at fences : he
always drew them up. He had little, low-priced
horses when he first came to the Quorn country,
but he rode them so as no man will again, and
they would do anything : get into bottoms and
jump out of them like nothing. And how hardy
he made them !

^* Those were different days. You might find at
Melton Spinney and run to Billesdon Coplow,
and not cross a ploughed field. I have seen
Mr. Holyoake (afterwards Sir F. Goodriche) go
like distraction for fifteen minutes, but Mr. Smith
and Mr. Greene, Mr. Gilmour and Lord Wilton,
they were the men to go when others were
leaving off."

Among the foremost of Mr. Assheton Smith's field

with the Quorn was Colonel Wyndham (Scots

Greys), who returned to England after Waterloo.

No fence ever stopped him, and he weighed

sixteen stone. When he could not get over, he

got through. Now and again a bullfinch seemed

impenetrable; the field would cry out, "Where's

28

The Quorn Hunt

Wyndham ? " and he soon made a gap large
enough.

The following lines were written in commemo-
ration of Mr. Smith's famous (and then record)
meet at RoUeston Hall in 1840. He rented the
house for some years, and it was here the Quorn,
Pytchley, and Cottesmore fields all met. Since
then there have been many tenants of this favourite
hunting box, including the late Mr. Mosley, my
ancestor, the present owner Sir Oswald Mosley,
and now Lord Churchill.

"On Ajax, a nag well in Leicestershire known,
See the gallant Tom Smith make a line of his own ;
Though in dirt fetlock deep, he ne'er dreams of a fall,
And in mounting the hill, why, he passes them all."

Representative polo teams of the Quorn and
Pytchley have more than once opposed one
another at Ranelagh in the Hunt Cup competitions
in later years.

29

CHAPTER IV

THE MASTER OF HOUNDS

The great masters of antiquity, if we may so style
them — Meynell, Beckford, Corbet, Lee Anthone,
John Warde, Ralph Lambton, Musters — have been
described as paragons of politeness as well as
models of keenness. George Osbaldeston hardly
possessed the former quality in so marked a de-
gree. Coming to present times, I cite as examples
the late Lord Penrhyn, Lords Portman, Lonsdale,
and Harrington, and Mr. R. Watson of Carlow,
Mr. ]. Watson (Meath), Captain Burns- Hartopp,
and Captain Forester, eminently successful masters.
Last but not least the eighth and present Dukes
of Beaufort.

Money ! money ! money I is perhaps the most
important attribute after keenness and temper. A
real keen 'un will generally get a country. Happy
is the country possessing a master with these
qualifications, and they are by no means easy to
acquire — the boldness of a lion, the cunning of
a fox, the shrewdness of an exciseman, the cal-
culation of a general, the decision of a judge,
the purse of Squire Plutus, the regularity of a
railway, liberality of a philanthropist, the polite-

30

The Master of Hounds

ness of a lord, the strength of a Hercules, the
thirst of a Bacchus, the appetite of a Dando, a
slight touch of Cicero's eloquence ; even more so
when the field overrides badly, and a temper as
even as the lines of a copybook. So says ^' The
Analysis of the Hunting Field."

Lor' bless us, what a combination of qualities !
An M.P. is generally supposed to have a ticklish,
uphill game to play. The M.F.H. has just as
difficult a one. He has to keep his soft-sawder
pot boiling all the year round, healing real or
imaginary wounds, both of his field and the
farmer's as to poultry and damage. Possessing,
as our model M.F.H. is supposed to, the patience
of Job, and the tact of an M.P., he can only
be written down as ^^ the best fellow under the
sun." They must have these same qualities, and
may have very different ways of showing them.
About the keenness there must be ''■ no mistake,"
as the great Duke of Wellington would have
said. A qualified liking would not do for a
"best fellow under the sun." He must be a
real out and outer. Keenness covers a multitude
of sins. City people, perhaps, would put money
first, but that shows they know nothing of fox-
hunting. Wealth, birth, keenness, all combined,
won't do unless he has the sincere desire to
please, and the desire not to hurt any one's feel-
ings unnecessarily. Making too much of a busi-

31

Fox-hunting Past and Present \

i

ness of hunting makes nervous and irritable '
masters. " Better luck next time " is a fine
consoling axiom, cheering alike to fox-hunter, i
gunner, and fisherman. Fox-hunting, being a \
sport, whether a fox is killed, or a fox is lost, i

or a fox is mobbed, or a fox is earthed, makes
no difference in the balance at the bankers.

On the principle that a new broom sweeps
clean, gentlemen taking the onus upon them of |
M.F.H. are apt to slave and toil like servants. ■
The fox-hunter goes out to ^' fresh fields and |
pastures new," hears all the news, the fun, the ■
nonsense, the gossip of the world ; his mind i
enlarged, his spirits raised, his body refreshed, i
and he comes back full of life and animation. ;

Dining out is almost indispensable for an '

M.F.H. , for friendship can only be riveted over a I
mahogany. It is convenient, too, in some cases, 1
such as hunting a distant part of the country. An j
agreeable change this, if the party have not been
hobnobbing at the county club for weeks to-
gether. One of the mistakes non-hunting people
used to make : ^' None but fox-hunters will do to
meet fox-hunters." We have changed all that
now. In a few hunts at any rate hunt dinners
are still in vogue. These reunions among members
of hunts have somewhat lapsed ; not so the balls
in January and February.

To discuss further the duties of the would-be

32

THE MAK'i^)UIS OK ZETLAND, K.

The Master of Hounds

successful master, I quote from Beckford : '' A
gentleman might make the best huntsman. I
have no doubt that he would, if he chose the
trouble of it." It is just the " trouble " that chokes
people off half the projects and enterprises of
Hfe. Gentlemen who hunt their own hounds
should remember they are huntsmen. He is a
public character, and as such is liable to be
criticised by the field adversely, or not, in ac-
cordance with the day's sport. The generalship
of a master consists in making the most of a
country, and the greatest use of his friends — that
is, exhort the members to put their shoulder to
the wheel in the cause of fox-hunting. Diplo-
macy (a genteel term for '^humbugging") is
another requisite for an M.F.H.

I regret that this chapter must be somewhat cur-
tailed. I quote, however, the words of a Lord
Petre to Mr. Delme Ratcliffe, who was then taking
over the Hertfordshire : '^ Remember, however,"
added his lordship, after going through a recapitu-
lation of the hundreds, '* you will never have your
hand out of your pocket, and must always have
a guinea in it." Most readers of these pages
know what a master can reasonably expect from
his field, and what the field expects from the
master. ^'A country should be hunted, the good
and the bad alternately, to give general satisfac-
tion, and in the long run better sport will be

33 c

Fox-himting Past and Present

enjoyed." Beckford makes some distinction be-
tween managing a pack of hounds and hunting
them.

Various are the opinions as to the best man
to fill the position of M.F.H. The great ques-
tion hinges on the style of man himself. We
all know the ease and readiness with which
people find fault. It may be of interest to quote
^'Gentleman" Smith's— a former M.F.H. of the
Pytchley and Craven Hunts — ideas of a perfect
huntsman. '' He should possess health, memory,
decision, temper, and patience, voice and sight,
courage and spirits, perseverance, activity ; and
with these he will soon make a bad pack a good
one. If quick, he will make a slow pack quick ;
if slow, he will make a quick pack slow." Mr.
Smith continues, " But first, to become a good
one he must have a fair chance, and should
not be interfered with by any one after leaving
the meet. Granted he is in the master's con-
fidence. . . . He should be able to think for
himself when hounds check." Beckford's quali-
fications are to be summed up in the single w^ord
'^ youth." Doubtless perpetual evergreenness is
a most desirable attribute. The old head on
young shoulders is probably the one attribute
referred to.

A man may certainly be born to become

a huntsman. We have heard Mr. C. M'Neill

34

The Master of Hounds

spoken of as a '' born huntsman." There are
very many families of huntsmen indeed. The
following is Beckford's ideal : ^' He should be
young, strong, bold, and enterprising ; fond of
the diversion, and indefatigable in the pursuit of
it ; he should be sensible and good-tempered, and
sober ; exact, civil ; naturally a good horseman,
his voice should be strong and clear, have an eye
so quick as to perceive which of the hounds
carries the scent, when all are running ; and should
distinguish the foremost hounds when he does
not see them. He should be quiet, patient, and
without conceit he should not be too fond of
displaying these attributes, till necessity calls them
forth. He should let his hounds alone, whilst
they can hunt, and he should have the genius to
assist them when they cannot." Many professional
huntsmen, however, have combated with age and
weight. I quote these qualifications as many
masters hunt their own hounds.

The idea of this work is not one of laying
down the law, but has been compiled as a
work of useful reference merely. The scope of
this work does not admit of the M.F.H.'s de-
portment at the meet, the roles of huntsmen,
whippers-in, and second horsemen to be discussed
therein.

The following rules were found in the Diary of

W. Summers, huntsman to Mr. Napper in the

35

Fox-hunting Past and Present

forties. He was kennel huntsman to the late
Mr. W. C. Standish during that gentleman's master-
ship of the Hursley and the New Forest fox-
hounds. I quote them here in the interest of all
concerned.

*' No man should attempt to hunt a pack of fox-
hounds who has not a cool head, and particularly
a good temper. An excitable temperament is not
an acquisition ; its possessor may ride as hard as
he likes ; he will never make a good huntsman
— but that never catches foxes. Most huntsmen,
to our idea [Summers says], ride too hard ; nine-
teen out of twenty override their own hounds,
and drive them hundreds of yards over the scent,
leading the field after them ; for very few of the
sportsmen who attend the meets ever look at
the hounds : they ride at the huntsman, no.t to
the hounds. A huntsman will tell you that it is
not his fault that he overrides his hounds, but
' the gentlemen do press on me so.'

^^ A cool-headed huntsman with nerve will not

allow himself to be hurried, and will see when his

leading hounds have the scent and when they have

not. He will take no notice of any man, and hunt

hounds as though he, and he alone, were present,

and consequently give satisfaction to the few that

know anything about it (hunting) and catch his fox.

He need take no heed of holloas or ask advice

when hunting his hounds, but should have his own

36

The Master of Hounds

opinion, and stick to it. He will let his hounds
alone as much as possible : they will know more
than he does about making their own cast first ;
and should they fail to recover the scent, then
let him try what he can do ; he should remember
foxes seldom wait, and he should make up his
mind quickly what he means to do. The worse
the scent, the quieter he will be with his hounds ;
full well he knows that if he once gets their heads
up, it will take him all his time to get them down
again. He must have his eyes everywhere, and
so he will quickly detect what has probably headed
the fox — a man ploughing, a flock of sheep, or a
herd of bullocks."

Hounds are often overridden by an impatient
or unsportsman-like field of horsemen, or galloped
to holloas by an ignorant huntsman.

^^ How often have we seen a fox, who, to all
appearance, was as good as killed, unaccountably
lost owing to impatience. Either the huntsman
has viewed the fox away, or the shepherd has who is
holloaing him ; thus he begins to blow his horn and
cheers on his hounds at best pace. Unluckily their
heads go up, and the fox is lost. He can't make
out why, neither can half the field, who don't
care much, and ride home satisfied they have
had a gallop and a jump, and think the fox a
good one ; in fact, they are glad he is spared for
another day. But the sporting M.F.H. knows

37

Fox-hunting Past and Present

why that fox was lost, and wishes there had been
a potato in his huntsman's mouth when he viewed
him. Had the hounds been left alone, he knows
that fox's hours were numbered, whereas the
hounds are rather disgusted at the day's toil.
A general, however brave a man he maj^ be, if
he has no head, is useless in command of an
army ; and the brainless huntsman, gallant rider
though he may be, can never command hounds.
Riding propensities of hunt servants are over-
estimated, and knowledge of hunting science
is not taken into account by the field. Those
who hunt to ride merely estimate the huntsman
by the number of his falls and useless jumping
of fences. Then an ignorance of fox-hunting is
displayed."

Summers pertinently goes on to say, ^^ Servants
are sent out hunting to assist the hounds, and
not ride to the gentlemen, but follow the pack
the nearest and quickest way, and not jump fences
because Captain 'Bellairs' does so; that gallant
man of war may stop his horse and break his
neck, too, but the huntsman and whips are required
for the day ; they should nurse their horses for
the afternoon run. They are no use lying in bed
with broken limbs ; but in the field is their place,
where they ought to be of use, and are paid to be
so, and assist in promoting the most liberal and

noblest of sports."

38

The Master of Hounds

Captain W. C. Standish, M.F.H., contributed
Summers' Diary to Baily's Magazine,

" To take a lesson from his book,
And at his system fairly look,
Would Quorndon's hero only deign,
He would not hunt his fox in vain.
But no ; with him it's all the pace :
The hounds will look him in the face.
And seem to say, ' Our noble master,
You would not have us go much faster ;
For we, on flying so intent,
A mile behind have left the scent.'
Indeed, good sir, you'll shortly find.
And ever after bear in mind.
That if you wish your hounds to shine,
Keep only those who hold the line."

Ode to AssHETON Smith, 1813.

39

CHAPTER V

THE COST OF HUNTING

" O'er the bottle at eve, of our pleasure we'll tell,
For no pastime on earth can fox-hunting excel ;
It brightens our thoughts for philosophy's page,
Gives strength to our youth, and new vigour to age."

The estimate under this category outside the
master's own estabHshment is in all cases difficult
to assess. Again, the master's knowledge and eagle
eye over all kennels and stables practically rules
the expenditure. A master can make little or no
profit on his original outlay when he takes a
hunting country. This may vary from ;^i5oo to
;£"2000 ; in a small provincial country (and one or
two in Ireland) ;^iooo might suffice. I refer princi-
pally to harriers. The horses ^' run away" with
a good deal of money. Here, too, a disinterested
expert will render yeoman service on the spot to
a new master ; for the quality of the mounts of
hunt servants varies with the nature of the country,
and a well-mounted hunt servant takes more care
of his horse than a badly mounted man. Few
dealers, even if they hunt, will assist a master to
mount his men at any reduction of cost. Spring

is the best time of year to buy horses ; bargains

40

The Cost of Hunting

may be had then to suit all pockets. They prove a
good investment (the summering included). Each
horse having a box in a long range of shedding
that opens on to an exercising yard, two feeds a
day are required — rye, lucerne, and vetches being
also supplied. Here turning out in grass fields I
again discount. The cost of keep works out at
about I2S. per week in summer and 20s. in the
hunting season.

The cost of hounds is roughly ^750 to ;£"i40o a
pack. Annual drafts are, however, usually pro-
cured ; they vary in price according to the position
of the pack they are purchased from. The Cottes-
more, Belvoir, and Warwickshire naturally are
expensive hounds to buy drafts from. About three
guineas to five guineas per couple is the average
price, or, singly, two guineas each. For three days
a week country fifty couples suffice. Their food
(*' meal " a year or more old) costs £\^ to £1% per
ton. The above pack requires about twenty tons
per year ; one hound about four cwt. in that time.
Horse or cow flesh costs about £^ per month — six
or eight carcases. As to the pack, the dogs and
bitches are generally (but not always) divided into
separate packs. The huntsman feeds the hounds ;
but when he is out hunting, the feeder does it.

The whippers-in and feeders divide their other
duties. Good strappers are rather difficult to pro-
cure. The wages of the hunting staff are as follows :

41

Fox-himtmg Past artd Present

huntsman, ;^ioo to £120 per annum; the first or
second whipper-in receive ;^8o and £(^0 respec-
tively ; each second horseman £\ a week. In
each case house and firing free. Their clothing
averages ;^2o to ^30 apiece. Prices of kennel
and stable necessaries now rather favour the
buyer. Oatmeal, oats, and hay are to be had at a
reasonable figure. Straw is dear. In some large
stables peat-moss and sawdust are substituted.
Straw, however, pays for buying in stables and
kennels. Straw averages £2 per ton, hay £2^
per ton, and oats £\y is. per quarter.

In some countries the master's duties have been
lightened latterly ; he has not now to investigate
all compensations for damage. In others, the
poultry and wire funds are now presided over by
their own secretaries, under the master's advice ;
no hard and fast rule can be laid down on this
head, however. A general estimate of a pack in
the early days of hunting was as follows : to hunt
a country twice a week, ^1170 per season — eight
horses, groom, helpers, food for twenty-five
couples of hounds, whipper-in, feeder, firing, taxes,
saddlery, blacksmith, &c. Then for £\(^2^ three
days a week, twelve horses, groom, helpers, food
for forty couples, two whippers-in, and for ^^1935
four days. These calculations do not allow of a
paid huntsman, as £'^00 extra would be required.

Mr. Delme RadcHffe in the thirties estimates three

42

The Cost of Hunting

days a week in Herts at ;^20oo. Squire Draper, we
read, however, kept a good pack on £'joo a year !

Other hunting authorities advise hunting and
farming to be combined. They could then pro-
duce lucerne, hay, oats, and straw, &c. The Earl
of Coventry considers about ;^5oo a year for every
hunting day to be the round sum required, in his
estimation. I herewith add a brief summary of
the funds that are required to compensate farmers.
They put in claims on account of many damages.
Please note, it is the peripatetic hunting-man that
does this. Now that capping has been resorted to
in some fashionable countries and subscriptions
raised, the numbers of those that hunt and do not
pay have been thinned. Then there is the wire
fund required to mend fences. The taking down
and putting up again of wire fences is undertaken
by this fund, or some of the best countries would
be unrideable. These countries are Northampton,
Rutland, Huntingdon, and Leicestershire ; there is
little or no wire in other countries. Here, however,
red danger-posts mark its position. In the pro-
vinces there is no wire fund ; in Berks it is ^lo ; in
some countries many hundreds would not cover
it. To manage the poultry fund, a country is
divided into districts and the claims therein settled
by gentlemen of the hunt. The altered condition
of the farmer's position and means nowadays
entails the compensation for various other damages

43

Fox-hunting Past and Present

not mentioned above. A hunting farmer does
not claim such compensation. Further damages
will occur to those who read these lines. Strangers
should have consideration for all farmers, and
endeavour to buy forage from them. They
should remember that farmers are struggling to
live.

Under the next category comes the expense to
the individual. It is not expensive, considering
the health and pleasure it affords. Three days a
fortnight in a fair country would cost about £%q
for the season for one horseman, provided he did
not break down. The initial outlay in horse-flesh,
&c., would be £\/\p. The above would include
the hunt subscription ; by riding a screw, sport
might be enjoyed for less. The i^8o expenditure
would be expended as follows : —

Keep of hunter at livery for 36 weeks at

29s per week, and groom . . . ^52 4 o

Keep of hunter during summer (turned

out to grass at 6s per week), 16 weeks 4 16 o

Shoeing and veterinary (^3 each) . . 600

Hunt subs, (less fashionable country, ^5) 10 o o

Extras : such as tips to hunt servants, &c. ;
keep, saddlery, horse and personal
(hunting) clothing in repair . . 700

^80 o o

As to horses, the following table gives roughly

the minimum reasonable price for five or six-

44

The Cost of Hunting

year-olds, well bred (sound), and with good
manners : —

Provinces.

The Shires.

Light weight

. ^60

^80

Middle „

120

150

Heavy ,,

170

up to any figure

Younger horses would be cheaper — short days
and near meets are the order then. ;^5o to ;^i2o
appears to be a sum that will mount the average
hunting-man. A horse that hunts three days a fort-
night should last six to eight seasons. I will
briefly summarise the probable expenses under
the following heading : wages, saddlery and stable
accessories, hunters at livery, shoeing, veterinary
(say £2 per annum), clothes, and hunt subs. A
groom's wages differ in different districts from
£\ to £\, 5s. per week. A headman, with helper
under him, expects from £\, 5s. to £\y 15s. per week,
clothes, and a cottage. Strappers usually receive
about £\y IS. weekly ; useful boys from los. to i8s.
a week. The different articles of saddlery and
accessories vary with the saddler. Second-hand
exercising saddles will be found an economy.

Those who keep hunters at livery will have to pay
from £\, 4s. to £\y los. per week for each animal.
A set of shoes, lasting a month, cost from 3s. 6d. to
5s. Hunting clothes are entirely fixed by taste ;
almost every article of apparel, breeches, boots, &c.,
must be duplicated. A good style of outfit would

45

Fox-hunting Past and Present

cost from ^12, los. to £2^ complete. For a list
of hunt subscriptions I refer you to Baily's
^^ Hunting Directory " (Vinton & Co.) : ^5 in a
provincial country, and £\o to £20^ for a two or
three day a week man in the Midlands, to £/\o per
season for the Quorn will all be found categorically
dealt with there.

46

CHAPTER VI

THE HORSE AND THE COUNTRY TO SELECT

" The horses snort to be at the sport ;
The dogges are running free ;
The wooddes rejoice at the merry noise
Of ticy, tantara-tee-tee.

— Gray {a;tat Henry VIII.).

A LOVER of horses would probably endeavour to
possess a stud of one size and stamp ; this is
difficult to attain, even when money is no object.
However, a sound horse and a good performer
at a moderate figure will suit the many. Bad
shoulders and too great length of leg are to be
avoided — a trial ride being in most cases needed.
A high wither may to the Tyro be confused with
a good shoulder ; it is well known that a bad-
shouldered horse cannot move well over ridge
and furrow. In fact, a straight-shouldered horse
is an abomination for a hunter : he cannot jump
except at the expense of his fore-legs, nor can
he recover himself when he has made a mistake.
For buyers who have not had many years' ex-
perience, a veterinary surgeon's advice when
making a purchase is a sine qua non. There
are numbers of connoisseurs, however, who are

47

Fox-hunting Past and Present

also very glad of their services. A horse that has
done much work can hardly ever, if ever, be
theoretically sound. And it is often found that
a faultlessly shaped hunter may, from want of
courage or a sulky temper, prove inferior to an
ugly-looking animal. They run good in all shapes
and sizes, and an intending purchaser of a hunter,
if he has time to school him, cannot do better
than buy at an Irish fair, accompanied by a
veterinary surgeon. He will be sure of having
something that can jump, and a saleable com-
modity when he is tired of him. Blood will tell,
and combines quality and endurance. Stonehenge
says : '' It is admitted on the turf that high breeding
is of more consequence than external shape. A
horse of perfect shape and inferior strain of blood
will be beaten by one of a high-class running
strain but not so well made." No horses are
merely machines, but animals full of whims and
humours : these a good groom will understand —
the better bred, the more nervous they are.

The number of horses and their size (which latter
varies with their riders) are two points that have
now to be considered. The be all and end all of
a young sportsman is to get a thoroughly made
hunter to start with : it engenders confidence.
Screws do not pay to buy. Poor men require
every horse to work, except a young one who

cannot be given a long day.

48

The Horse and the Country to Select

Stabling, forage, and grooming cost the same for
any horse. These should be bought at the end of
a season if possible. Light weight and all hunters
are cheaper then, and they can be conditioned by
next cubbing season. As to condition, it takes
some weeks to put it on — long, steady, and slow ;
walking and trotting daily exercise is needed —
say, from the end of July in early mornings,
to allow your horse going to the meet in Sep-
tember ^^ nearly " fit. The requisite physic should,
of course, be administered previously. And all
this, so that a ^* good thing" may be enjoyed
early in the season.

The number of horses required varies with
the country : a single mount for the provincial
hunt to the six or eight in the shires. Here and
in the Midlands you can hunt four days a week
with six horses, two being required out each
day, there being generally a good run in the
afternoons. The above number would allow
for the casualty list. In the Midlands the
hunt servants are allowed two horses per diem ;
and an open season free from frosts is not
the most expensive in horse-flesh. Size of horses
requisite to a hunting-man is computed by his
weight and length of leg : thus, a man 5 feet 10
inches (weight, say, 12 to 13 stone) requires a
15.3 to 16 hands horse. Small horses are best if
you can ride them ; they are handier, hardier, and

49 D

Fox-hunting Past and Present

stand a long day better. On the other hand, big
horses go easier in ^^dirt," tire less in jumping, and
can brush through a fence. Professional thrusters
nearly all ride big horses.

Now it is a generally accepted fact that a good
Leicestershire or Midland hunter will carry you in
almost any country unless it is an exceptionally
rough one. Then for a fourteen-stone man a
short-legged thoroughbred hunter is required.
Then for the rich man a stud all of a size and
stamp is generally au fait ; it is, however, a task
of time as well as an expensive business to
collect such a stud. In choosing a hunter,
bad shoulders (viz. straight), and a too great
length of leg should be eschewed. A leggy horse
is to be avoided. Here Captain Haye's ^' Points of
the Horse" and Captain Cortlandt G. Mackenzie's
(the late) ''Notes for Hunting Men" should be
read. A veterinary surgeon's advice is generally
needed wherever your would-be hunter is pur-
chased.

A really good hunter may not always be a
perfectly made horse ; his feet may not always
be the same size, e.g.y and so on. Stonehenge says :
*' It is admitted on the turf that high breeding is
of more consequence than external shape, and of
two horses, one perfect in shape, and of an inferior
strain; and the other of the most winning blood,
but not so well made, the latter will be the most

50

The Horse and the Country to Select

likely to perform to his owner's satisfaction on
the racecourse. A blood hunter is a suitable
conveyance for some men. The following are a
few words which go to prove that in the aggregate,
despite the many changes all round, hunting ex-
penses have not increased to-day to what they
were in 1805. ''Nimrod" (Mr. C. W. Apperley,
the chief hunting collaborateur of that day) says :
''Ten horses and a hack at Melton for twenty-five
weeks cost ;^6i5, los., or about £1^ los. per horse,
and his allowance for fourteen horses one year
at ;^i20o apparently includes summering the
animals." On the other side of the question, how-
ever, subscriptions have now more than doubled ;
there was no wire fund then, and the poultry and
other funds were not so large.

Now as to the country in which to hunt, men
with sound ideas on the subject generally tell you,
''every one should hunt from home if possible."
Assuming that the would-be fox-hunter is free and
independent, I refer him to the following lists.
There are grass countries and provincial or wood-
land countries. The late Major G. J. Whyte-
Melville tells us, " all countries are good in their
way — some have collars, all have sport." The
following works, however, give a full synopsis of
most of the best known fox-hunting countries:
Baily's "Annual Hunting Directory," 5s. (Vinton
and Co.) ; " Hunting," the Badminton Library

51

Fox-lmnting Past and Present

(Longmans), by the late Duke of Beaufort, M.
T. Morris, and Earl of Suffolk ; '' Hunting in
Leicestershire," T. F. Dale ; ^' A Century of English
Fox-hunting," by an old friend, the late G. F.
Underbill. Any of the best countries, and a few
seasons in the Emerald Isle with its grass, banks,
stone walls, &c., go to complete the education of
a fox-hunter. The better horses a man has, the
better he will be carried in any country, and it is
generally accepted that the provincial countries
are cheaper than the Midlands and shires to hunt
in. As to riding to hounds, you require two
horses per day in the grass countries where hounds
run fast. Allowing for one horse in six being
on the sick list, and the others require, say, five
days' rest after a hard day in the shires, ten or
twelve horses are required in Leicestershire for,
say, three days a week. Nimrod holds this to
be an accepted fact. An advantage in the less
fashionable or provincial countries is that the
comparative smallness of the fields enables the
young sportsman to see more of the hunting than
in the Midlands with their big crowds. Should
the neophyte be superbly mounted, he might, in
the latter case, override the hounds, which is not
an enviable position to find oneself in.

I will now briefly note a few of the most import-
ant advantages derived from hunting in the shires.

You get more value for your money, for it must

52

The Horse and the Country to Select

be a very bad scenting day in a grass country that
you do not get at least one or two sharp fifteen
minutes' spins ; and there is more sport in the day
to be had. There is no sport giving the same
amount of pleasure, for which you pay at a like
scale as hunting. Those that do hunt in the
shires are, or should be, prepared to pay liberally,
and in remaining countries according to scale.
A horse costs, roughly, taking into consideration
wages, forage, &c., ^loo per annum. Nowadays
the number of horses in a stud has to be kept
down so that hunt subscriptions to various packs,
&c., can be paid by those living in a busy hunting
centre.

The day is not far distant when sporting rights
in certain districts may have to be obtained and
paid for. Take an ordinary week in the season
and glance down the list of fixtures in some of the
leading countries. First of all you have the Bad-
minton at Tolldown. This means Sudbury Vale, a
delightful part in this varied county — walls and
fences here abound. Notley Abbey, near Oxford,
with the Bicester, is in the best of that famous
country. The Cottesmore at Somerby connects
one's mind with sharp bursts to Ranksboro Gorse.
Cranoe with Mr. Fernie's is always a well-favoured
meet ; it means Langton Caldwell and Stanton
Wood. A Friday with the Quorn at Ashby Folville
is not to be missed — coverts small, grass fields,

53

Fox-hunting Past and Present

plenty of foxes, and practicable fences afford
pleasure to all the field. This is an Ai country for
a man without an eye to a country : here ignor-
ance of your whereabouts is bliss. No less attrac-
tive is the Belvoir fixture at Folkingham ; there are
famous coverts here, stout foxes, and wide fields.
Here you goX plenty of galloping if there be a scent
at all ; here you see that grand pack, the Belvoir,
to its best advantage. One more fine hunt and
fixture can be visited on a Friday — the Warwick-
shire, at Wroxton Abbey, to boot. This is on the
Banbury side of the country. Good scent here is
rather the rule than the exception. Notes on these
favourite meets can be prolonged ad infin, I must
refer you to the Field any Saturday during the
season, with some kind friend who can recount
you days after hounds with this pack or that, the
shires alone being referred to above.

" Every species of fence, every horse, doesn't suit.
What's a good country hunter may elsewhere prove a brute."

54

CHAPTER VII

HUNTERS AND THEIR STABLES

" Oh ! the vigour with which the air is rife,
The spirit of joyous motion,
The fervour, the fulness of animal life,
Can be drained from no earthly potion.

Then the leap, the rise from the springy turf,

The rush through the buoyant air,
And the light shock landing — the veriest serf

Is our emperor then and there."

To write up the whole subject that comes under
this heading would be too long a task for a hand-
book of this sort. Many further details not com-
mented upon here will be found in ^'Hunting"
(Badminton series) ; the late Duke of Beaufort,
" Horses and Stables " ; the late General Sir F.
Fitzwygram ; the late Captain C. G. Mackenzie's
^' Notes for Hunting Men"; the late Captain
Haye's ^^ Stable Management, &c.," and there are
others. The subject can be approached from
many points of view. Our health (we believe) is
best when we live regularly, thus most people agree
that the secret of successful stable management
is ''regularity." To obtain regularity in feeding,
exercise and grooming is half the battle. The
general order of events in a well-managed hunting

55

Fox-hunting Past and Present

stable is assumed to be : at 6.30 a.m., water ; sweep
out box or stall; and remove soiled litter ; remove
night clothing, and hang out if fine ; clean horse's
body, legs, head, mane, and tail ; sponge his dock
and nostrils ; then put on fresh day clothing.
About an hour after, feed horses, and the groom
proceeds to breakfast. After that, say 9 a.m., saddle
and bridle ; doors and windows to be opened be-
fore going out. While out, clothing to be brushed,
horse groomed thoroughly on return, and bedded
down. At 12 o'clock, water and feed, and attend
to stable generally. 5 p.m., feed and water ; remove
dung, and groom well, and night clothing put
on, say, at 5 P.M., in winter 9 P.M. Stud or head
groom visits stables and feed if necessary. Linseed
mash is given twice a week (unless horse is
hunting next day). Never feed without chaff, or
feed within an hour before horse is watered. Do
not give anv food within an hour before horse
going out hunting. On coming in, do not remove
saddle or numnah until the back can be dried,
which will be in about twenty minutes. This
applies to girths of side saddle ; a leather numnah
will be found to be as good as any. After a horse
returns, wet bandages should be applied and kept
on till grooming is finished. A horse's shoes
should be continually looked over, and the inner
under edge should never be sharp.

The following is somewhat the order of pro-

56

Hunters and their Stables

cedure on a hunting day. On the morning of
hunting, give half bucket of water and feeds of
corn as early as possible — this to be completed an
hour before starting. On returning from hounds,
throw on clothing and give gruel ; rub horse's
ears if exhausted. After stabling, give chilled
water and hay ; brush dirt off legs ; wash feet ;
bandage loosely ; dry neck, head, and shoulders ;
throw rug on, and give mash. Then finish the
horse off ; put on night clothing ; dry legs, and
put on dry bandages, and feed with dry corn.
At night give another feed of corn, and see that
his ears are dry and warm. Gruel for horses
returning from hunting to be made about 12
o'clock — a quart of oatmeal with boiling water
poured on it. The bucket to be covered up and
left before fire till horse comes in. Mashes may
be made as directed above : cold water is to be
poured on oatmeal and given to a horse chilled.
The following are some of the main points of
stable management condensed. Early exercise
before breakfast is wrong in the winter months —
liable to cause accidents and to be cut short owing
to grooms being in a hurry to return to breakfast,
thus horses would not be groomed on return ;
the pores of their skin being open, grooming is
then beneficial. Litter should be placed outside
during the mornings ; floors of stalls and boxes
are thus disinfected. Litter sheds are also a

57

FoX'htmting Past and Present

necessary adjunct where they can be had for wet
weather.

Horse clothing to be healthy should be well
brushed and aired daily ; the same rug is not to
be next the horse's skin night and day. The use
of rugs for hunters' exercise cannot be laid down
by rule ; this exercise is better when taken after
breakfast. Smoking and stopping at public-houses
during exercise is to be prohibited.

The use of the wisp at evening stable hour is
not only to make a -horse's coat shine, but to
brace his muscles up and give them tone ; it also
aids to condition. Only horses with bad feet are
likely to cast shoes out hunting : of course their
shoes should be looked to regularly. The inner
under edge of hind shoes to be rounded : this pre-
vents overreaches — these, it need hardly be said,
occur in heavy ground at jumps. This should
be impressed on shoeing-smiths when placing
shoes on hunters behind. Ten to twelve ounces is
the requisite weight for any hunter's shoe. At
4s. a set they should last three weeks to a
month : they may then be removed, refitted or
replaced. Some horses find out when they are
to hunt and will not feed in consequence, and the
stable routine should not be altered in their case.
It is advantageous to give a horse gruel before or
on returning home after a hard day ; a mouthful

of hay may also be given. Here, and on returning

58

Hunters and their Stables

home, the master or his stud-groom must see that
the horse is properly looked after. Rubbing a
horse's ears refreshes him as much as anything.
After sufficient grooming a horse should be dry
and warm ; a linseed mash and crushed corn is
often advisable before the stud-groom finally looks
round and turns in himself. In the case of knocks,
strains, or bruises, their immediate attention will
save them becoming serious.

59

CHAPTER VIII

FEEDING AND CONDITIONING OF HUNTERS,
AND SOME REMARKS ON SADDLERY

" Here lies the tall squire of Enderley Hall,
With his bridles, boots, fiddle, brush, colours and all.
Some liked his scraping, though none of the best,
And all liked the welcome he gave to his guest.
His taste was, in horses and hounds orthodox,
And no man can say he e'er headed the fox,
In the dog days or frost, when the kennel was mute ;
Each turns with the turn of his humour to suit."

— Ode to Mr. Lorraine : Bethel Cox, i8io.

A HARD and fast rule cannot be laid down for all
horses' food. Nervous, delicate feeders are the
opposite of gross feeders ; both species require
care and attention. A good stableman can with
care make a poor or shy feeder keep in good con-
dition ; they are often fed late at night. A horse
that has been out at work is usually fed then.
Experts consider that a horse's stomach is emptied
in four hours. About four feeds a day and three
pounds of corn per feed are generally sufficient.
Hunters are to be fed as regularly as possible, so
far as their work allows. The following times
would probably be convenient : after morning and
mid-day stables, at three o'clock, after evening

stables — if necessary, the last thing at night. This

60

Feeding and Conditioning of Htmters

last feed at night necessary in some cases will be
resented by many stud-grooms. I will estimate the
average food per diem as follows: oats, 14 lbs. ; hay,
10 lbs. ; and straw for litter, about 10 lbs. per diem.
There are numerous works on sale which lay
down the quality of forage. They may be theo-
retically applied, but an expert will show you good
stuff from bad. A farmer or good local dealer
are the best purveyors to a hunting-man. Foreign
stuff I do not advise. Old oats, large, hard and
clean are the best ; they can with advantage be
laid in store in the spring. Then a well-venti-
lated store-house is required, and the oats should
be turned over monthly. Generally horses digest
crushed oats best. Hay is not so easily diagnosed
as to quality; the best is generally *^well made"
and cut at the right time. Good hay always looks
and smells well ; its stalks should not be soft and
flabby. A stack can be best judged when it has
been cut up and trussed. As to ingredients, beans
and peas are useful and an important article in
a hunting stable; they are to be used with great
caution in the case of young horses as they are
heating as food. When a horse is doing hard
work, two or three pounds a day is quite enough.
Probably the best ^* chaff " (which should be given
in every feed of corn, as it makes a horse masticate
and digest his corn better), is of clover and rye-
grass hay when obtainable.

61

Fox-hunting Past and Present

It is not wise to place a superfluity of food
before a horse ; in fact, corn left in mangers an
hour after feeding should be removed. As stated
above, a nervous or excitable horse feeds best at
night; either carrots, flour, or sugar have to be
added in some cases for timid feeders. Rock salt
may be, with convenience, kept in a horse's manger.
Care must be taken that hay is not given in too
large quantities, as great waste easily occurs. As
stimulating and heating food is necessary to all
hunters at hard work, mashes twice a week are
useful to keep the system in order. All physic is
to be dispensed with as far as possible. They
appear, however, to be most necessary on a
horse being brought up from grass, and in some
cases when a horse is going ''out" to grass for,
say, two and a half months' summer run. Again,
as to straw, its price varies in grass and plough
counties. Of this the weekly market returns furnish
a reliable price-list. Litter should be turned out
in the mornings, and soiled portions taken to the
dung-pit. Two trusses should suffice for two boxes
per week ; wheat straw is best, being bright and
not brittle. Barley straw is dusty and irritating,
and oat straw some horses eat too readily. Above
include the main points to be kept in view as to
a horse's diet.

Now as to the summering and conditioning of

hunters. It goes without saying that good hunters

62

Feeding and Conditioning of Hunters

sell best at the season's commencement — even then
it is not advisable to part with a horse you really
like. Manifold reasons may tempt a man to sell.
And again it is only a really finished horseman who
can go well on new mounts at a season's com-
mencement. These are therefore some of the
courses open to a would-be fox-hunter for the next
season. You can keep the horses up in gentle
exercise^ or summer them in loose boxes, or
turn them out to grass. Now turning out to
grass has not even economy on its side. For
a full diagnosis of this plan I refer you to
^^ Hunting " in the Badminton Library among
other works.

Lameness during the next season you will prob-
ably find, besides accidents during the summer in
wire and from kicks, &c. To crown all, there is
the inevitable loss of condition and the months it
takes to regain it. As to summering in loose boxes
or strawyards, it is fairly cheap : the horses ^^i no
exercise to speak of. Risk is, however, minimised.
No doubt the system of keeping horses up in
gentle exercise pays best in the long run. A rest
from high feeding as well as the hard work is
desirable. Horses require cooling down as well,
viz. gradually place horses on laxative food. Those
that are blistered after season's work to run in a
paddock ; the others, presumably sound, go to
walking exercise. Horses summered at grass re-

63

Fox-hti7iting Past mid Present

quire tips in front, otherwise their feet must be
seen to once a month. Another advantage in
having a shady paddock near your stable, is to be
able to let horses have a run in the cool of the
morning and the evening. If the night is hot, let
them remain out. Beware of too much galloping
and probable kicking ; for the horse who remains
in the stable all the summer, vetches and fresh-cut
grass are healthy. Then no physic would be
necessary. Oats and hay can be given in certain
quantities, according to the amount of work to
each horse.

Conditioning for the winter usually commences
in the middle of August. About this date commence
with one and a half hour, the corn to be increased
to 10 pounds per diem, about half the hay (say,
12 pounds) to be cut into chaff after September i.
The exercise to be gradually increased to two and
a half hours. There is to be a daily slow trot of
two to three hours, and uphill if possible — this
develops muscle. Corn to be gradually increased,
and a handful of beans and peas added from the
middle of September. If the horses are in good
health, the daily exercise should be increased to
three hours ; the hunters can then be fed as in
the hunting season. A gross or too fat horse to
be sweated by trotting in clothing. Prior to Novem-
ber I little or no galloping is required (by grooms);

a few gallops cubbing are best. Only very excep-

64

Some Remarks on Saddlery

tionally hard ground in October will keep your
horse back.

A racecourse (if permission is allowed), downs,
common, or heath are best for conditioning horses,
the exact spot to be changed about occasionally.
There are various ideas re clipping ; in many cases
this is not done until the coat is set. Oftentimes
the coat is removed early and at regular intervals ;
then there is less risk of chill. It is an open
question whether the saddle-mark is to be clipped
or not. If the hair is left under the saddle to
prevent sore backs, care should be taken to dry
this thoroughly each day after hunting. The
clipping of legs varies in different countries, and is
ruled by fashion. Hair left on legs is a great
protective against thorns, and in limestone countries,
including Ireland, it forms a preventive to mud
fever.

As to hunting saddles and their concomitant

parts, the makers in London and elsewhere are

legion. It goes without saying a saddle to fit

properly should have an equal bearing on the

animal's back. A saddle may, of course, fit two or

three horses. In the case of ladies' saddles, horses

to carry ladies should be exercised in them during

September and October. Of numnahs there are

several varieties ; a leather one is best, and they

should be kept soft by rubbing on saddle side with

tallow. Ladies' saddles are often best with a felt or

6s E

Fox-hunting Past and Present

sheep-skin numnah, and these should be larger than
the saddle to prevent sore backs. Small saddles are
an abomination for hunting or polo, and plain,
flapped saddles are always the best. If saddles are
placed on the ground too much, the leather is
worn off round the edges, especially at the pommel.
Either man or woman should have a safety bar
or patent hook to affix to his or her stirrup-leathers
to minimise the chances of being dragged out
hunting — a very dangerous experience. In this
case also there are many safety bars ; Champion
and Wilton's patent hooks do not fly off before the
necessity arises. They are simple and inexpensive.
I need hardly say that saddles and all their acces-
sories are of the very best from this Oxford Street
firm. When using above hooks, the stirrup-leather
must be put on with the tongue of the buckle in-
wards. Stirrup-leathers and girths should be daily
looked to ; some hunting-men have a thin strip
sewn inside their leathers to strengthen them.
Of girths, white are the smarter, but leather most
serviceable and strongest. They require dubbing.
Any and all of the works herein mentioned have
concise chapters on bits, bitting, according to
space at command. A large collection of fancy
bits is an expense to collect ; they don't avail
much. A horse, to be a hunter at all, should go in
a light or heavy double hunting bridle. The former

is ^'ward" hunt or polo bridle. Then there is

66

Some Remarks on Saddlery

the '^ Ben Morgan," the ^' Rensum," et hoc genus
omne. Many hard pullers frustrate these in the end.
Except in Ireland and in bank countries, do not
hunt in snaffle bridles : you cannot collect a horse
as he approaches his fences in these bridles. To
teach a young horse to hunt in a double bridle
requires good hands and patience ; of course it is
jumping *'fly" fences and taking off wrong that
sends horses sprawling. A horse that star-gazes
would be quite safe in a ^^ running" martingale;
the majority of hunting-men, I believe, consider
a ^* standing" martingale dangerous. The martin-
gale rings should be on the bridoon reins, in a
case where horses will not allow of them being
placed on the bit reins ; and they are dangerous
on the bit should a horse fall on landing, or get
''hung up" jumping. Curb-chains should never
be tight, the cheek of the bit to be in " line "
with cheek-piece of the bridle. There should be
room for your finger between the curb-chain and
the jaw. You can have either a leather curb or
leather chain-guard.

67

CHAPTER IX

HUNTING CENTRES

** The hunt is up, the hunt is up,
And it is well-nigh day ;
And Harry, our king, is gone hunting,
To bring his deer to bay."

— Gray {cetat. Henry VIII.).

For the interest of would-be fox-hunters and

others, I now enumerate a few of the best hunting

centres in Great Britain. Ireland, for instance,

possesses greater attractions to some, in that in an

average year there is more open weather there,

more especially in the south and west. Fogs are

not unknown in Ireland and are dreaded there as

much as frost. As to the banks, you can get

accustomed to them in the same way that you

do the various fences in England. There is not

much to choose between the winter climate of

Ireland and Devonshire. From the point of view

of continuous sport, say for nine months in the

year, the corners of South-west Somerset and

North-east Devon are the best. The Devon and

Somerset staghounds, foxhounds, and harriers

hunt the same ground. The country has its own

charm, not governed by the number of fences

68

Hunting Centres

jumped. There is a higher average of good runs
and days with stag than fox ; here the riding is
rough and most of the galloping done over heather.
In September and October the district overflows
with visitors. By the end of October the quarry
changes from stag to hind : rain that brings heavy
going, this and mist are the two chief deterrents
to sport here. Of quarters there is a wide choice,
and Exford is the most central. From here the
Exmoor and Dulverton foxhounds can be reached ;
also the Devon and Somerset staghounds. Exford,
however, is dull for a long winter stay when
Minehead, Dunster, and Porlock are livelier.

Porlock is handy for a good deal of hunting
with the Exmoor foxhounds, Minehead harriers,
and the staghounds, while Minehead and Dunster
are also handy for the West Somerset foxhounds.
From Porlock and Minehead you can hunt for
nine months out of the twelve — one of the ideal
spots this for a hunting correspondent. The
Blackmore Vale, however, is a very popular pack,
I need hardly add ; then comes the Cattistock from
Sherborne and Yeovil, the Taunton Vale from
Yeovil, the South and West Wilts from Temple-
combe, and Lord Portman's from Shaftesbury.
Houses let well in the Blackmore Vale country ;
some winter residents at Torquay favour the South
Devon ; eastward of this all the packs attract
residents alone, no visitors.

69

Fox-htmting Past and Present

Now as to the hunting Londoners, they nearly
all hunt from their homes, within the forty-mile
radius. They form the backbone of a dozen or
more subscription packs. There are but few hunt-
ing specials from London termini patronised to
any extent nowadays ; men do not wish to under-
take the strain on nerves and constitutions. In
the Midlands there are a few places that attract
strangers (outside the shires and Warwickshire).
Cheltenham, of course, attracts many, as five packs
are within reach ; it is a bright, cheery place ; you
can hunt from Cheltenham every day in the week.
The Vale of White Horse attracts visitors, and
the new hotel quite close to the gates of Bad-
minton takes a contingent. Naturally, houses let
well for the winteriin the district. Then Grantham
can command the east side of the Blankney ; and
there is a certain influx of visitors all up the
Great Northern line. To cite a few, Catterick
Bridge, Croft Spa, Harrogate, and Darlington are
all fine centres. From Croft and Darlington you
can get Lord Zetland's, the Harworth, and South
Durham. There are no hunting visitors to the
Tynedale and Morpeth, for instance, and there are
very many provincial packs under this category.

Other convenient hunting centres, from whence

two or more packs of hounds may be reached,

are as under. Taking the shires first, from Melton

you get the Belvoir, Cottesmore, and Quorn ; from

70

Hunting Centres

Market Harborough, Mr. Fernie's, Pytchley, and
Woodland Pytchley ; Stamford, Cottesmore, and
Fitzwilliam ; Leicester, Atherstone, Mr. Fernie's,
and Quorn ; Oakham, as fashionable as Melton,
the Cottesmore, and Quorn ; then the other towns
(understudies, as it were, of Melton), Rugby very
convenient to the Atherstone, Pytchley, Warwick-
shire, and North Warwickshire ; York ; Bramham
Moor, Holderness, Lord Middleton's, York, and
Anisty. He must be hard to please whom one
of these does not satisfy ; or, say, Cheltenham ;
Berkeley, Cotswold, North Cotswold, Croome,
and Ledbury. Kettering ; Pytchley, and Pytchley
Woodland. Leamington, Warwickshire and North
Warwickshire; Aylesbury; the O.B.H. (west);
South Oxfordshire, Whaddon Chase, and Lord
Rothschild's staghounds. Harrogate ; Bramham
Moor, York, and Anisty ; and of sea-side resorts,
Scarborough ; Goathland, Sir Everard Cayley's,
Lord Middleton's, and Stainton Dale. Eastbourne
has two packs — South Down and East Sussex ;
Bideford one — Hon. Mark Rolle's. Then I pass
on to such centres on the G.W.R., not so far from
Paddington, as Swindon, the Duke of Beaufort's,
Craven, V.W.H. (Cricklade) ; V.W.H. (Cirencester) ;
and Cirencester ; Duke of Beaufort's, Cotswold,
and V.W.H. (Cirencester), and V.W.H. (Crick-
lade) ; other convenient country centres are,
Chelmsford; four Essex packs; Banbury; Bicester,

71

Fox-hunting Past and Present

Grafton, Heythrop, and Warwickshire ; Bucking-
ham ; Bicester, and Warden Hill, Grafton, and
Whaddon Chase. Haslemere ; Chiddingfold, H.H.,
and Lord Leconfield's. Stow-in-the-Wold ; Hey-
throp, and Warwickshire. Reigate ; Burstow, Old
Surrey, and Surrey Union. Crewe ; North and
South Cheshire, and North Staffordshire. Derby ;
Earl of Harrington's, and Meynell. Doncaster ;
Badsworth, Lord Fitzwilliam's, and Viscount Gal-
way's. Oxford ; Old Berkshire, Bicester, and
Warden Hill, Heythrop, and South Oxfordshire,
Cambridge, Cambridgeshire, and Newmarket, and
Thurlow. Baily's ''Hunting Directory" (Vinton
and Co.) gives a detailed hst of hunting centres
in England, Ireland, and Scotland, and hunts
accessible from them. A smaller and very handy
work is ''The Hunting Annual," by Walter M.
May and Arthur W. Coaten, lately enlarged :
Messrs. Love & Malcolmson, 4 and 5 Dean
Street, W.C. Price is.

72

CHAPTER X

SOME AXIOMS AND SAYINGS OF THE CHASE

•' And you, proud duke, all dressed in blue,
A word or two I have for you :
Your field's too wild ; your huntsman slack ;
In no condition is your pack.
The proudest peer in all the land,
The science you don't understand ;
Then why your thoughts on hunting fox ?
You'd better stick to p — 1 — t— s."

— Sporting Magazine, 1820.

"The careful man is quite as likely to meet with an
accident as the careless;" "the best horses are bred,
not in great studs, but on small private farms ; "
" Mr. T. C. Garth retired in 1902, after fifty years'
mastership of his own hounds." Anthony TroUope
wrote most of his novels and acquired most of his
hunting knowledge in Essex. " Never give a horse
violent exercise immediately after a full meal or a
full draught of water." " Some men hunt to ride,
some ride to hunt ; others, thank Heaven ! double
their fun by doing both" (Brooksby, the Field).
This from Nimrod's (Mr. C. ]. Apperley) pen : " He
did not suppose he had seen the huntsman of a
foxhound pack, mounted on a thoroughbred, a
dozen times in all his experience." " Should you

73

Fox-himting Past and Present

own a kicker or a runaway, shoot him rather than
bring him into the hunting-field."

In the days of William III. the Charlton country
(now Lord Leconfield's) in Sussex was one of the
most fashionable. ^*A mare named Swiftlass, in
1880-1881, carried Will Dale, then huntsman of
the Burton, over a drain 25 feet wide and 15 feet
deep — measured." When Gillard became hunts-
man of the Belvoir in 1870, the first problem in
breeding he had to solve was how to make a more
musical pack ; they were beautiful workers, but
their tongues w^ere not heard enough. The earliest
pack to provide sport for the many was the
common hunt of London, whose rights were
confirmed by Henry I. (1100-1135). It has been
calculated, ^'that in countries other than the shires
it costs about ;^5o to catch a fox ; in the shires it
costs much more."

'' Ware hounds ! " Mr. Merthyr Guest once

had to send home six hounds which had been

lamed by thrusters. '' Do not make a refusal by

your horse, a personal affront to be punished

by whip and spur." How few people take any

real interest in hounds ! If one wants to see

brave men struggling against adversity, take

nine men out of ten to spend an hour on the

flags. Henry VIII. is said to have tired out

eight horses in one day's stag-hunting ! Mr.

Nevill of Chilland, Hants, used to hunt water-

74

Axioms and Sayings of the Chase

rats with his bloodhounds when he could hunt
nothing else. Mr. Clarke, owner of the Hindon
harriers, once saw a hare sit so close by that a
hound trod on her, and she did not move then.
Captain White, Master of the Cheshire, 1841-55,
once played a trick on his hard-riding field by
laying a ten-mile drag over the stiffest line he
could select. ^^ Only one farmer in twenty feels
the direct benefit of hunting" (Mr. J. O. Paget).
Mr. Childe of Kinlet, ancestor of Captain Childe-
Pemberton (the late), is said to have set the fashion
of fast cross-country riding about 1800 ; though
in November 1777, the then Marquis of Granby
recommended a horse as able to ^'leap well and
safely."

'^ Hunting is a very effective method of forming
and improving character ; " a Mr. Westwood Chafy
of Ongar had a hunter named ^' Free Trade,"
which carried him 404 days in thirteen seasons.
The old style of hunting — finding the fox by
working up the drag — is practised by the Fell
packs of foxhounds to-day. Mr. ]. Crozier, Master
of the Blencathra, took ofifice in 1839, and held
it till 1903. Mr. R. W. Nesfield, late Master of
the High Peak Harriers, killed his thousandth and
last hare on April 2, 1892 ; his hunting diary
described 1235 days. The great Duke of Welling-
ton said : ^^ Give me a fox-hunter, for he knows
the lie of a country, and makes the best officer."

75

Fox-htmting Past and Present

^' Foxes are ten times more numerous now than
they were fifty years age " ('' Borderer/' Sir R.
Greene Price, Bart.).

Strapping is to a horse what massage is to his
master. *' May attention still be given to the
master when he talks, and for the puppies may
he find innumerable walks." When Lord Suffield
took the Quorn in 1836 he paid 3000 guineas for
Mr. Lambton's pack — ^' sixty-six couples of old,
forty couples of young, hounds." Birch-Reyhard-
son, in '' Sports and Anecdotes," tells of a half-bred
hunter which was constantly jumped over a 7 foot
3 inch stone wall. To really enjoy hunting one
must take much on trust ; however, small hunters
are handier and hardier than big ones, and they re-
cover more quickly from the effects of an exhausting
day. ^'VVhen a fox is beat, he depends on his
brains." '*A keen master makes a loyal and
obedient field." Major Fisher, in ^'Through Stable
and Saddleroom," remarks "that a blind horse does
not grow a proper summer coat." It is the element
of danger that lends hunting one of its greatest
charms : the Kilkenny hounds originally hunted
wolves. Risks are minimised by the union of good
horses and good riders, and falling is a science.

Members of Lord Fitzhardinge's and the Old
Berkeley hunts wear yellow plush instead of scarlet.
Mr. Pelham of Conud used to dress his hunt ser-
vants in white pipeclayed coats. '^ The way to rear

76

llfl:ii|ii:ii.

lift

iiii;

.1

— -s

Z C

? I

z S

0 <

Axioms and Sayings of the Chase

a foxhound puppy, is to give it freedom, keep it
dry at night, and not overfeed it " (the Earl of
Lonsdale). On November 30, 1855, ^^^ York and
Ainsty had a run of seventeen miles in one hour
and forty-five minutes. Raise your hat, not your
voice, when you view the fox away. " Pluck leads
you into danger, nerve sees you safely through it."
Mr. Warde and Mr. Meynell would never use each
other's stallion hounds.

The remarkable proof of Squire Osbaldeston's
skill as a hound-breeder was the celerity with
which he improved his packs : his quickness over a
country was phenomenal ; his endurance far above
ordinary human. I refer you to his long rides to
cover, and his great riding feat on the Beacon course
at Newmarket. The late Mr. John Lawrence's
offer of £^ to any one who should see a fox kill a
lamb was never claimed. Mr. R. Herbert of Clytha
concluded a seventeen years' tenure of the reins
of the Mons. hunt in 1903 ; he was presented by
his friends with a silver fox. Mr. Herbert is a
well-known exponent of many other sports, steeple-
chase riding, polo, and shooting ; an original
member of the National Hunt committee, he
founded Ranelagh. We are promised his reminis-
cences one day. ^^ He sees most of the fun who
rides with discretion, and spare the crops in
early spring." Major Whyte-Melville says : '^ It
is from the loins that all good riding is done.

77

Pox-ktmting Past and Present

Some countries have collars ; all have sport. I
freely confess that the best of my fun I owe it
to horse and hound."

The earliest Badminton kennel-book goes back
to 1728. The late Rev. Jack Russell, when eighty
years old, rode home seventy miles after seeing a
fox marked to ground. Lord Henry Bentinck
says, ^' Begin November with your hounds blooded
up to the eyes." Between 1698 and 1800 the
Quorn had only two masters, Mr. T. Boothby
(fifty-five seasons), and Mr. Hugh Meynell (forty-
seven seasons). Of all the latter-day masters,
Captain Burns-Hartopp for seven seasons was one
of the most popular. Captain Forester, late 3rd
Hussars, succeeded him in the year 1905 ; he had
been master of his regimental pack, the Limerick,
two seasons, and the old Berks one. ^^ There is
almost always a scent on the eve of a frost " (the
late Mr. W. C. A. Blew : the Field). Foxes are
wildest and strongest about Christmas (Beckford).

^^ Save your horses : no one knows when a run

may end." If you have cheap horses, the better you

ride, the better you will be mounted. " A number

of horses are rejected by wealthy men because

they are uncomfortable mounts " (Mr. T. F. Dale :

^* Stoneclink"). Again, ^'Without some experience,

at least in boyhood, no man is ever likely to attain

much proficiency in the saddle, at any rate in the

hunting-saddle," the eighth Duke of Beaufort

78

Axioms and Sayings of the Chase

writes. *' In whatever situation an Englishman
fixes upon to reside, his love for the chase ac-
companies him," Cecil tells us, and so on. Here
are two or three old saws (not so very old) that
will bear repeating. Avoid a country with wire
unless that which is left be '' well marked." I
commend you to Baily's ''Annual Hunt Directory"
for this information. Ride an Irish horse when
you can get one at a moderate figure — not under
four years for safety's sake. The leading reposi-
tories are the best mediums of purchase, unless
you visit Ireland yourself.

In hunting, as with other sports, there are many
names of both masters and servants that have long
been associated with hounds. Thus, the Car-
marthenshire have only changed names three
times in fifty years, viz. the United, Mr. Powell's,
or Maesgwynne. Mr. W. R. H. Powell's name was
a household word in Wales in connection with fox-
hunting. For fifty-five seasons, T. Boothby, and for
forty-seven, Hugo Meynell ruled the Quorn hunt.

Lord Darlington's name will never be forgotten
in the North. Where also are the names of Lane-
Fox, Lords Galway, Middleton, Zetland, and Fitz-
william, those of hunting-men pure and simple.
Mr. ]. Farquharson hunted all Dorsetshire at his
own expense from 1806-58.

How well known are the families of Lord Port-
man (an M.F.H. for fifty years), the eighth and

79

Fox-hunting Past and Present

present Dukes of Beaufort, Lords Fitzhardinge and

Leconfield in the South. Mr. Crozier was M.F.H.

of the Blencathra sixty-four years ; Mr. J. Lawrence

of the Llangibby from 1856-97. Other family

packs omitted above are the Belvoir, Brocklesby,

and Wynnstay.

Then come the veteran names of Lowther,

associated with Quorn and Cottesmore since 1788 ;

further details I cannot go into here ; Anstruther-

Thomson, M.F.H. in the Shires and of Fife ;

John Warde, Assheton Smith, and Osbaldeston,

who hunted more or less all their lives. The

Persses of Galway, the Watsons of Carlow and

Meath, the Spencers of Althorp. Mr. Garth reigned

fifty years as an M.F.H. Many huntsmen have

handed down the post from father to son, viz. the

Leedhams with the Meynell, and Smiths with the

Brocklesby. Then the Goodalls, Freemans, and

Hills are families of hunt servants. J. Baily was

huntsman of the Essex, and Bowman of the UUs-

water many years ; C. Brackley to the Garth

thirty-two years. Champion was huntsman to

Marquis Zetland thirty-four years. S. Morgan

first whip to Lord Galway since 1877 ; and J.

Shepherd, born at the Fife kennels in 1843, never

left the country. T. Smith gives up the Bramham

Moor this year, and C. Travers the Cotswold. Both

have completed over thirty odd years as hunt

servants, and there are many other such examples.

80

CHAPTER XI

STAG-HUNTING

" Ah ! hunters forbear ! stop the murdering train,
And give the poor creature his freedom again.
See ! see ! they relent in the glorious strife ;
Now they call off the dogs, and the stag has his life."

Having mentioned in another chapter some of the
chief centres from which stag-hunting can be ob-
tained, I herewith add a few further details of the
sport. A meet attended by some three hundred
horsemen, the opening meet of the Devon and
Somerset, is a stirring sight. Who can gainsay the
fact that stag-hunting here has a charm all its
own, whether it be from Cloutsham Ball, or
Minehead, Linton, o'er the river Taw, a run up
Summerhouse Cliffs, or from Haddon ? Naturally
each season has its one or two record runs, and
deer to hunt are the gamest of the game all round.
No ordinary fence is high enough, thick enough,
or sufficiently close-woven to stop him.

They do tax the farmer's crops, and munch them
at dead of night betimes ; naturally, compensation
is freely offered and accepted. All this on and near
Exmoor, the land of ^* Lorna Doone," where these
herds of hungry deer number several hundreds —

8l F

Fox-httnting Past and Preseiit

over five hundred. The hunt committee of the
Devon and Somerset has fixed the minimum sub-
scription for a day's hunting with one horse at
half a guinea. This begins in August, and the
same crowd, augmented on occasions, flock thither
annually. There are, in all, sixteen packs of stag-
hounds in England, and four in Ireland. It is with
the Devon and Somerset of sixty couples that I am
chiefly dealing with here. Mr. E. A. Stanley is
the master ; Porlock, Dulverton, and Minehead are
the most convenient centres, and the kennels are
at Exford near Taunton. Monday, Wednesday,
Friday, and Saturday are the hunting days. The
Surrey (master, Captain W. B. M'Taggart) hunt three
days a week. The Enfield Chase, a Herts pack, some-
times three days. Sir ]. Amory is at the head of
his pack, and hunts twice a week round Dulverton
and Tiverton in the west countree. The kennels
are in Devonshire — to be precise, at Hensleigh,
Tiverton. In fact, staghounds are located chiefly
in the south of England, though Lord Ribblesdale
and Mr. P. Ormrod jointly started the Ribblesdale
last year. They hunt round Clitheroe and Gisburn.
The most northerly pack is, however, the Oxen-
holme — twenty couple. Mr. C. H. Wilson hunts
them two days weekly near Milnthorpe and
Kendal.

For full particulars of the Berkhampstead, the

Berks and Bucks, Mr. Burton's, the Essex, Mr.

82

Stag-htiiiting

Gerard's, Mid-Kent, New Forest, Norwich, Lord
Rothschild's, and the Warnham I must refer
you to Baily's '^ Hunting Directory." Of the
Irish packs, the Co. Antrim and Templemore
hunt two days a week, and the Wards and Co.
Down three. An admirable work on this mag-
nificent sport is ^* Stag-hunting on Exmoor," by
Philip Evered (secretary of the pack), to be pro-
cured of Chatto & Windus, or the west country
publisher, Mr. J. G. Commin. Also that well-
known work, '' The Queen's Hounds, and Stag-
hunting Recollections," by Lord Ribblesdale,
Master of the Buckhounds, 1892-95.

The type of horse seen out in late summer and
early autumn on Exmoor and the Quantocks has
improved year by year. Neither sun nor dust can
deter West Somerset folk when stag-hunting is
afoot. Where the going is good, it is hard, indeed,
for the master to obtain room for his pack to
puzzle out twists and turns of the quarry. Among
the very large field, indeed, who do Cloutsham
annually, you may see many M.F.H.'s free as yet
from cubbing, hunting-men from the Shires and
Midlands, a sprinkling of Americans — tourists. Yes,
and troopers in uniform have been known to put
in an appearance, not to speak of cyclists, pedes-
trians, motorists. On that day papas and mammas
fill carriages from friend Thristle's or the Luttrell
Arms. For many years there was the stout

83

Fox-hunting Past and Present

farmer, who rode coatless and in flannel shirt :
he had fine lungs, too, and was quite a character
here.

Hedges are then grey rather than green. For
the hot, trying days in the middle of August
old horses are much better than young ones.
Most of the field do their day's hunting on one
horse ; although hours are longer and distances
galloped longer than in fox-hunting countries,
horses last a longer time. However, most of the
field bestride ^* quads" that would be little ac-
counted of in the Midlands. They know their
country and are hill-climbers of Exmoor Combes,
not so trying to forelegs and tendons as a flying
country or one of banks is — comparison this of
tortoise to greyhound. About seven years ago, on
the Saturday after Barnstaple Fair, a memorable
stag led the field to Castle Hill and Umberleigh
on the River Taw to such purpose that some
of the followers lay out all that night.

Stags, however, are slow to break cover, and the

harbourer usually tries to find one with three long

points atop on each horn. (It is of the hunted wild

deer, not the ^' carted " deer that I speak of now.)

If the harbourer's boots are wet when he reports

to the master, so much the better ; then there has

been rain on the moor : he brings good news.

He has slotted a fine stag across the Combes,

'' brow, bray, and tray, and three on top." A stag

84

Stag-htintmg

passes so noiselessly along, his bated breath seems
the most audible thing about him, though his
horns are apt to make a curious rattling noise
when rushing through an oak coppice. The
huntsman and tufters — steady old hounds — first
make their way to the stag's whereabouts. The
tufting is done, for the most part, on pony back.
A 13-hand Exmoor pony can carry a 9-stone
huntsman among the bushy paths and rocky by-
ways well. A stag to whom self-preservation is
first nature will do anything rather than risk the
open, and the young male deer who generally ac-
companies him he will invariably try to force
into his place. His ingenuity is miraculous ; he
will attempt to drive out any other deer weaker
than himself ; a stag has been known to turn
out another from the furze and appropriate his
bed while the hunt was in full cry. Two stags
have actually fought in front of the pack as to
who should be the scapegoat.

In a work of this sort details of memorable
runs, measurements of heads, ages of stags, their
jumps over cliffs, their deaths in the water of
Porlock Bay, cannot be gone into at much length.
It has been often noticed that in a choppy sea, a
mile or so from shore, a beaten deer drowns in
the curl and wash of the waves.

One of the most appalling spots in Red Deer
Land is that bordering on the Severn. To those

85

Fox-hunting Past and Present

who know them, what can compare to the cHffs
from Ashley Combe to Countisbury Foreland ?
Here there are paths and byways that overhang
a rock-bound beach by a giddy drop of three
hundred feet. Deer, after betaking themselves
to the sea here, have swum ashore only to find
themselves confronted by hounds and huntsman.
It is some years now since his Majesty the King,
when Prince of Wales, despatched the first Exmoor
stag near Badgworthy Water.

This year a stag jumped over the cliffs at
Desolate near the Foreland, and in 1884 one was
killed at Glenthorne, followed by five hounds ;
the stag and three of the hounds were killed.
The famous Bratton Run was one of twenty-six
miles — time, two hours and twenty minutes. Any
stag with two long points on either top may be
run ; one with three atop on each horn is gene-
rally sought for ; the animal is then probably not
under seven years old. It is a grand cleft in
the moors, the Badgworthy Water Valley, called
Badgery — one of the grandest on Exmoor. There
is no forest here now. Rock and woodland en-
circle the romantic Doone Valley ; here the ruined
dwellings of outlaws with whom ^' Gert Jan Ridd "
tried conclusions more than two centuries ago
may be seen.

One of the finest heads in stag-hunting history

was taken on October 25, 1893, that last day of

86

Stag-himting

that season on the Quantocks. This was near St.
Audries, Sir A. Acland Hood's seat. The head
had four on one top, and four and an offer on
the other. Round outer curve of inner horn,
36 inches ; width at fork, inside to outside, 30J
inches ; perpendicular height, 29 inches ; under
curve of brows, 14 inches. This head, for sheer
weight of beam, will probably never be surpassed ;
it graces the hall at St. Audries, and it is said
to be the largest wild trophy ever secured in the
British Islands.

So much for the mode of hunting the wild red
deer. That of following the carted deer or stags
by the other packs of staghounds is another and
simpler matter.

The average visitor to Exmoor is a fox-hunter
or harrier-man, and his annual visit lasts from
three weeks to a month. The winter weather here
is too varied and too often doubtful to attract
visitors. The first ten weeks, therefore, of the
stag-hunting season bring out large fields, so the
winter hunting is confined to local sportsmen,
twenty to fifty all told. Again, bump of locality
and knowledge of woodcraft are most essential
on Exmoor, especially when a short cut home
is desirable and heavy mists gather suddenly.
Mr. E. A. V. Stanley hunted sixty couple here
this season. About the middle of October stag-
hunting ends, and then, after a week or two of

87

Fox-hunting Past and Present

inactivity, hind-hunting commences. This con-
cludes at the end of March, and is followed by
a few more weeks of stag-hunting. Many of the
runs after the hinds are never chronicled. It is
not the exciting affair that a stag-hunt is. The
state of the country affects the sport less than
it does fox-hunting. The idle period here lasts
only from the beginning of May to the end of
July.

I have told you before in this chapter that the
fascination of stag-hunting grows and grows ; and
as for the native of North Devon or West Somerset,
he or she is a born hunting enthusiast. However,
two days a week can no longer be reckoned on
the Quantock side ; and the herd in and about
Slowly is small. This detracts from Dunster as a
hunting centre ; does not affect Minehead much.
So Porlock, Exford, and Dulverton are now the
best centres, while Lynton, Lynmouth, and Ilfra-
combe accommodate other sets of visitors annually.

Exmoor is a huge country, and there is stag-
hunting four days a week. There are the Exmoor
foxhounds and harriers when staghounds are out
of reach, and always the beautiful air, that com-
bination of moorland and sea air which distin-
guishes Exmoor from all other hunting localities
of the kingdom.

88

CHAPTER XII

CUB-HUNTING AND AFTER— BECKFORD

AND NIMROD

" Where all around is gay, men, horses, dogs ;
And in each smiling countenance appears
Fresh blooming health, and universal joy.

• • .

Ha ! yet he yields
To black despair. But one loose more, and all
His wiles are vain. Hark ! through yon village now
The rattling clamourings. The barns, the cots.
And leafless elms, return the joyous sounds.
Thro' ev'ry homestall, and through ev'ry yard,
His midnight walks, panting, forlorn, he flies."

— SOMERVILLE.

These lines of the classic poet of the chase apply
as well, nay better, to the regular season to which
cubbing is the preliminary canter. In all countries
where material and scope admit of two months'
preliminary work before the regular season begins,
it is of inestimable advantage to start then when
farming interests allow. There has been an idea
that the hours of evening may be substituted for
those of dawn, and it may be interesting to see
the system given a thorough trial. Peterborough
is the first milestone on the way to another season ;
then come Goodwood, the Dublin Horse Show,
the puppy shows, the festival of St. Grouse, and

89

Fox-htmting Past and Present

the chase of the wild red deer. The strong
woodlands of Yorkshire or the Midlands divide the
early cubbing with the Meaths and Mr. ]. Watson.

There is a peculiar charm attached to hunting
in the later days of summer. Nature is clad in
her richest hues on a fine September morn ; the
cleared fields are golden in the morning sun ; here
and there you come across ^^ sicklemen weary of
August," and other sounds so dear to the English-
man. Anything like a gallop is out of the question
so early in the season, even should the ground
be soft, which it rarely is. It is, of course, a fact
that in cubbing it is neither possible nor advisable
to evade the responsibilities of a public function.
Still, discipline has to be enforced on young hounds,
and the instinct of the hunted animal in cubs.
So the amount of publicity which is given to
cubbing appointments has frequently constituted
one of the hardest problems that the M.F.H.
has to face during the season. On the whole
there is a good deal to be said in favour of adver-
tising ; if the practice of sending out fixture-cards
be adhered to, a list of fixtures, with names of
all who should be notified, has to be kept.

The hunting in November, and perhaps Decem-
ber as well, in great measure depends upon the
quality of the cub-hunting. When, as was the
case during the tropical summers lately, cubbing

had to be postponed owing to the hard ground,

90

MR. C. K. r. MCNEILL, M.K.H. 'IH E GKAKION

( Photograph by Messrs. John Burton & Son. Leicester)

Ctib'hunting and After

the effect upon hounds was disastrous. In return
for the concession, where it is granted, it behoves
those who turn out to be studious not to occupy
a position when they are de trop ; and remember
that the hunt staff should not be hampered or
disturbed in what to them is a matter of business.

It is very important that the utmost care be
observed with young horses, gross or fractious
hunters, in their exercise on cubbing mornings.
Moreover, a kick or a blow from one of these
horses, bestowed on the young hounds, will undo
all the assurance acquired with the hunt horses
when at road exercise. Grooms and second horse-
men have to be carefully enjoined on this point.

Nine times out of ten hounds are holloa'd away
on an old fox unintentionally. For this mistake
hounds' feet suffer, which entails endless trouble
to huntsmen and kennelmen alike. It is generally
agreed that for sharpening up young hounds, and
to satisfy the cravings of a rapidly growing field
of riders, tactics for keeping cubs within the
covert's confines should be abandoned in October.
There is some division of opinion as to the '' hold-
ing up " question at the beginning of the cam-
paign. ^'The great object of cub-hunting," pleads
the champion of old-fashioned methods, "has
always been to blood the young entry, and with
a good litter on foot, it matters little if a cub or
two be chopped at the outset." A more modern

91

Fox-huntmg Past and Present

school contends ''that plenty of blood is what
hounds want." And that three or four brace,
no matter how killed, is far better for the pack
than a single brace, each of which has fallen
a victim to sound persevering work. Without
blood, they contend, hounds soon become slack.
Later on, perhaps, there will be none too many
foxes. That huntsman is cleverest who can strike
the happy mean ; the intentional disappointment
of hounds should be avoided.

In the early stages of cub-hunting it is occa-
sionally of great advantage to dig out foxes,
since it teaches hounds the indispensable accom-
plishment of marking to ground. There is a
theory that hounds taken away from an open
earth become disappointed, which is open to
doubt. They would and probably could under-
stand they had not been wholly outwitted by
their fox, unless the latter can be bolted forth-
with. An hour's wait during the digging out
would hardly be beneficial to hounds, especially
if the weather became inclement. When chill
November arrives and the regular season opens,
no longer are we compelled to rise in the middle of
the night to be with hounds, and each week makes
a difference once the leaves begin to fall. Un-
fortunately Nature ordained they should fall into
ditches, and a blind ditch leads to more dire

disaster than a blind fence. Hedging and ditching,

92

Cub'htmting and After

unfortunately, is not studied so sedulously in some
countries as formerly.

I would now give you a run as told by two old-
time authorities — Beckford's, the hunting run, and
Nimrod's, the riding one. There is nothing cruel
or unsatisfactory about Beckford's, while Nimrod's
run breathes of desperate demands upon the gener-
ous exertions of the horse. Scores of other pens
have since told us of the ^^ image of war" in the
hunting-field. Beckford's ideas were written well
over a hundred years ago, and Nimrod's about
eighty. For broad and bold generalism they are
^^ first class."

Beckford's ''Thoughts on Hunting," written in
his Dorsetshire country, will ever hold its own,
though the ''moving incidents by flood and field"
are perhaps best depicted by Nimrod. The meet
is perforce an old-time one.

" The hour most favourable to the diversion,"
says Beckford, "is certainly an early one; nor do
I think I can fix it better than to say the hounds
should be at the covert side at sun-rising." " Let
us indulge ourselves with a fine morning in the
first week of February," writes Nimrod, "and at
least two hundred well-mounted men by the covert
side. Time being called \cBt. 1845] — say, 11. 15,
nearly our great-grandfather's dinner-hour — the
hounds approach the furze brake, or the gorse, as

it is called."

93

Fox-hunting Past and Present

The one talks of Dorsetshire and its ungovern-
able woodlands, the other of Leicestershire. Now
for ^^the draw," ''the dash into the echoing wood
of stately growth," when each hound is seen, nose
to ground, drawing steadily on his line. The meet
''when all around is gay, men, horses, dogs," the
squires talk county business and a groom holds
the stirrup for a third. The country fox-hunter
talks of turnips, the London one of the play. But
hark to Beckford again.

" Now let your huntsman throw in his hounds as
quietly as possible, and the whippers-in keep wide
of him on each side, so that a single hound may
not escape ; they must be attentive to his holloa,
and ready to encourage or rate as he directs.
He will, of course, draw up the wind.

"Now try and keep your brother-sportsmen in
order, and put discretion into them, then you will
be lucky ; they more frequently do harm than
good. If possible, persuade those who wish to
holloa the fox off to stand quiet under the covert
side, and on no account to holloa him too soon ;
if they do, he will most certainly turn back again.
Could you entice them all into covert, your sport,
in all probability, would not be the worse for it."

" How well the hounds spread the covert ! The

huntsman alone, and his horse, not so long ago,

had the pack at his heels. How steadily they

draw ! You hear not a single hound, yet not one

94

Ciib-Jiimtiug and After

is idle. Is not this better than to suffer from
continual disappointment, from incessant babbling
of unsteady hounds ? "

No doubt, Mr. Beckford, when you have a
well-trained pack. Now for Nimrod.

''^Harken, hark! or yooi over in! or eloo
in ! ' holloas, or cries, Mr. Osbaldeston. ' Oh,
you beauties ! ' rapturously exclaims some Mel-
tonian. The gorse appears shaken in various parts;
no hounds visible, and then suddenly one or two
appear bounding over furze-bushes."

Beckford continues: ^^Howmusical their tongues!
And as they get nearer to him, how the chorus
fills ! — Hark ! he is found — now where are all your
sorrows, and your cares, ye gloomy souls ! — or
where your pains and aches, complaining ones !
one holloa has dispelled them all."

Nimrod's gorse ^^now shakes more than ever.
Every stem is alive, and reminds us of a corn-
field waving in the wind. ^ Have at him there,'
holloas the Squire. Gorse still more alive, and
hounds leaping over each other's backs."

Beckford's fox must get away first. We will
suppose Beckford to have sat listening, horn in
hand, making the following observations. '^What
a crash they make ! and echo repeats the sound.
The astonished traveller forsakes his road, lured
by its melody ; the ploughman stops his plough,
and every distant shepherd neglects his flock,

95

Fox-hunting Past and Present

and runs to see him break. What joy ! What
eagerness in every face ! "

A vivid description that. Mention of the shep-
herd conveys the idea of an unenclosed country ;
the greater part of Dorset was so in Mr. Beckford's
day. Nimrod's fox breaking covert is or was
correct in Leicestershire ; and, indeed, in some
countries where masters have not their field under
control, certain gentlemen are satisfied when they
see three couple of hounds on the line.

Lord Alvanley's facetious observation after lark-
ing home across country, ^' what fine sport we

might have if it was not for those d d hounds,"

was a keen satire on Melton fox-hunters. The
eager ^* Snobs " now casts up in Nimrod's run with
the hackneyed inquiry of " Do you think you can
catch the fox ? " But Squire Osbaldeston did not
suspect the ^' Snobs" might be none less than one
of the Quarterly reviewers.

^^Now, huntsman," says Beckford, ''get on with

your head hounds, the whipper-in will bring on the

others after you ; keep your eye on the leading

hounds, that, should the scent fail them, you may

know how far they brought it. . . . The scent

being good, every hound settles to his fox ;

the pace gradually improves — vires acquirit eundo ;

a terrible burst is the result. . . . Mark Galloper

how he leads them," says Beckford. '' It is

difficult to distinguish the leading hound, yet

96

Cub-htmting and After

he is the foremost. His nose is not less ex-
cellent than his speed. How he carries the scent !
and when he loses it, see how eagerly he flings
to recover it again ! There, now he's ahead
again ! See how they top that hedge ! Now, how
they mount the hill ! Observe what a head they
carry ; and show me, if you can, one shuffler or
skirter amongst them all. They are like a com-
pany of brave fellows, who, when they engage in
an undertaking, share its dangers and fatigues
equally."

At the end of nineteen minutes Squire Osbalde-
ston's hounds came to a fault, but Pastime hits
off the scent, and away they go over the cream
of Leicestershire. '' Not a field of less than forty,
some a hundred acres — no more signs of the
plough than in Siberia." How different to Beck-
ford's uphill and down-dale Dorsetshire, with its
chalky downs and wilderness of woods. How
Beckford teaches, when he seems only to aim
at amusement, so keen and observing a sportsman
is he.

" It was then the fox I saw, as we came down
the hill ; those crows directed me the way to
look, and the sheep ran from him as he passed
along. Hounds are now on the very spot, yet
the sheep stop them not. Now see with what
eagerness they cross the plain ! Galloper losses
his place ; Brusher takes it. See them fling for

97 G

Fox-hunting Past and Present

the scent and run impetuously ! How eagerly
Brusher took the lead and strives to keep it ! Yet
Victor comes up apace : he reaches him ! See
what an excellent race it is between them ! It is
doubtful which will first reach the covert. How
eagerly they run ! How eagerly strain ! Now
Victor, Victor ! Ah ! Brusher, you are beaten ;
Victor first tops the hedge ! See there ! See how
they all take it ! The hedge cracks with their
weight, so many jump at once ! "

The while Nimrod's hard riders press on,
'' Snobs " gets through his horse. Second horses
and the Whissendine Brook follow on ; but with
the exception of Abigail and Fickle and the head
hounds are carrying, we hear little of the pack.

Beckford goes on with : ^' Now hastes the
whipper-in to the other side of the covert ; he is
right unless he head the fox." That sentence is
quite the old sportsman. ^' It is right, if it is not
wrong. . . . Listen ! the hounds have turned. They
are now in two parts ; the fox has been headed
back, or they have changed at last. Now, my lad,
mind the huntsman's holloa, and stop to those
hounds he encourages. He is right ! That doubt-
less is the hunted fox ; now they are off again. . . .
Still we press too closely on the hounds ! Hunts-
man, stand still ! As yet they want you not.
How admirably they spread I How wide they
cast ! Is there a single hound that does not

98

Cub-hunting and After

try ? If there be, ne'er shall he hunt again. There
Trueman is on the scent ; he feathers, yet is doubt-
ful still. How readily they join him ! See those
wide-casting hounds ; they fly forward to recover
lost ground! Mind Lightning, how she dashes;
and Mungo, how he works ! Frantic now pushes
forward ; she knows as well as we the fox is sink-
ing. . . . Huntsman ! at fault at last ! How far
did you bring the scent ? Have the hounds made
their own cast ? Now make yours. You see
that sheep-dog has coursed the fox : get forward
with hounds, and make a wide cast. Scent begins
to fail ; you must not let them hunt ; with the
scent so cold you can do no good — they must do
it all themselves.

'^ Let them now, and not a hound will stoop again.
Ha ! a highroad at such a time as this, when the
tenderest-nosed hound can hardly own the scent !
Another fault ! That man at work, then, has
headed back the fox. Huntsman ! cast not thy
hounds now ; they have overrun the scent ; have
a little patience, and let them, for once, try back.
See where they bend towards yonder furze brake !
I wish he may have stopped there ! Mind that
old hound, how he dashes o'er the furze ; I think
he winds him ! Aye, there he goes ! Now he
cannot escape us he is in the very strongest part
of the cover. How short he runs ! He is now in
the thickest of the covert ; every hound is running

99

Fox-hunting Past and Present

for him — a quick turn that ! and then another.
Now Mischief is at his heels, and death is not far
off. Ha ! They all stop at once ; silent, and yet
no earth open. Listen ! now they are at him
again ! Did you hear that hound catch view ?
They overran the scent and Reynard lay down
behind them. Now how quick they all give their
tongues ! Little Dreadnought, how he works him !
How close Vengeance pursues ! — how terribly she
presses ! It is just up with him — Gods ! what a
crash they make ! The whole wood resounds ! —
That turn was very short ! There ! now — aye, now
they have him ! Whohoop ! " Thus Beckford con-
cludes his run.

Nimrod tells us how the fox did his best to
escape, threads hedgerows, tries a farmhouse out-
buildings, and turns so short at once, but hounds
run shorter as much as to say — *' Die you shall ! "
The pace had been awful for twenty minutes.
Three horses blown to a standstill, and few going
at their ease. '' Out upon this great carcase of
mine, as he stands over his four hundred guinea
chestnut, then rising from the ground — no horse
ever foaled can live at this pace." This from the
lips of a young Meltonian. *' You will know how
^ his tail was nearly erect, and nostrils were
distended.' . . . ^ Not hurt, I hope,' exclaims Mr.
Maxse, as he hears a thud in the next field, and
gets a glimpse of somebody coming neck and crop

TOO

Cub-htmting and After

from the top-bar of a high hog-backed stile. It is
young Peyton, who has missed his second horse at
the check, who had followed in distress ; his nerve
and pluck had kept him going to within three
fields of the finish. The fall was nearly a cer-
tainty, as it was the third bit of timber he had
taken, and his horse was blown ; he was too good
to refuse them, and knew better than to do so."

The pack is depicted as pulling him down in a
large grass field, every hound but one at his brush.
Jack Stevens with him in his hands would have
formed a subject worthy of Sir Edwin Landseer : a
blackthorn had opened his cheek, and besmeared
his upper garments with blood ; his head and cap
were besmeared by mud from a fall he has had in
a lane — he has ridden the horse throughout the
run, and has handled him so well he could have
gone two miles farther, had the run continued.
Osbaldeston's whohoop might have been heard
to Cottesmore had the wind set in that direction.
Every man present was in ecstasies. Lord Gardner,
Sir James Musgrave, and Colonel Lowther are de-
picted among those first up. Sir James Musgrave
remarks, ''What superb hounds are these." *'Just
ten miles as the crow flies, in one hour and ten
minutes, with but two trifling checks, over the
finest country in the world." ''You are right,"
replies Colonel Lowther, " they are perfect. I wish
my father had seen them do their work to-day.

>»

lOI

Fox-hunting Past and P^'esent

There is no jealousy among the rest of the field;
please note, as they come up by two's and three's
and congratulate one another on the day's sport;
then each man turns his head towards home.

A burst in the Shires is, as often as not, a
quicker thing than this nowadays.

I02

CHAPTER XIII

THE HUNTING-FIELD : ITS MANNERS,
AND DISCIPLINE

" Up rouse ye, then, my merry, merry men ;
For 'tis our opening day ! "

— The Chough and Crow.

Hunting-men may be divided into two classes —
those who hunt to ride, and those who ride to
hunt. Nearly every one belongs to one or the
other ; there may, however, be a third section,
viz., those who hunt because '^fashion says it
is the right thing to do." " Hounds, gentlemen,
please," to which may be added, " Don't motor
too close to the meet." This season two eminent
M.F.H.'s nearly came by bad accidents owing to
motors, and the Craven hounds were motored
into. This by the way. If a man has a true
knowledge of and passion for the sport, it will
force its way out and be understood and admired
by his fellows. So it is the real sportsman who is
valued and esteemed. Most men enter the hunt-
ing-field from a love of riding or a love of hunting
— sport pure and simple : a love of that exercise,
riding, which used to have such a singular charm

for the average English boy, and which never

103

Fox-huntmg Past and Present

really leaves him. Take the man who is genuinely
bitten by a love of the chase ; his keenness may
triumph over advancing years ; he earns the so-
briquet, *^good old sportsman." His ^'eccen-
tricity" is tolerated by many of his friends, who
consider hunting a most dangerous form of mania,
and whose only participation in manly exercise
is the occasional watching of a cricket-match.

Let us pass on. The '' rider," he who hunts to
'' ride," certainly feels the true rapture of the
sport ; but it is the riding that takes his fancy
first, the love of hunting may follow in days to
come. The man who rides seldom notices the
true element of poetry that undoubtedly under-
lies every true sport, and the lights and shades
of the hunting-day.

The mise en scene, though a wintry one, is usually
attractive. Doesn't the wind slightly move the
leafless trees in the covert which the hounds are
drawing ? See those water-drops on the trees ;
they are often a sign of a good scenting day.
No, there is none of spring's pushfulness, sum-
mer's fulness, or of autumn's decay. Still, the
open winter day has its attractions. So the young
rider who '' hunts to ride " says to himself, like
one of those Melton "Bloods" in the old story:
*' What splendid fun we should have if it were
not for those infernal hounds." Then as to the

man who '^ rides to hunt " : no minutiae of hounds,

104

The Htintiiig-Field

horses, and woodcraft escape his notice, the wind
and weather also. His enjoyment of a ** cHnking
day " comes from hunting knowledge. *' Bump
of locality/' that first essential of a scout, which
is and can only be born in the man ; he never
jumps an unnecessary fence — paradoxical quite to
the hunting novice. His theory is, ^* Save your
horse ; it may not be three, but ten or twelve
miles, this point." This "hunter" never hesitates
when he sees the best and the shortest way ; then
no ordinary fence will stop him. Hound-work
and the country's contours are easily read by
him ; such is the type of sportsman that rarely
grumbles though fortune buffets him.

The man who primarily rides to hunt lives in
a wider sphere than he who hunts to ride. We
might take Charles Kingsley as the ideal sports-
man, who, while so keenly enjoying riding, was
so thoroughly filled with a deep understanding
of and love of the chase. Everything he saw
was a fresh inspiration to him, and in his work,
"The Winter Garden," with the poet's rare touch,
shows us the imagery and good in hunting.

He who rides to hunt is often as good and
as hard a rider, and is always a far better sports-
man all-round than the ^'Thruster." The latter
is so engrossed with "the pushing along" that he
completely loses sight of the hunting. Sometimes
the sport simply resolves itself into what we get

105

Fox-hunting Past and Present

when we go to the drag-hunt. A good man
to draghounds does not always shine with fox-
hounds.

Men not over imbued with keenness often lose
their hardness in early middle life, and become
quite modest performers. There have also been
distinguished hunting-men, born huntsmen, who
never enjoyed a reputation for hard riding, and
well up in venery. Such an one was Peter
Beckford, whose immortal treatise on hunting,
though over a century old, is eminently useful
to-day. In his day there were more men who
hunted for the sake of hunting than now. There
were fewer ''visitors." The fields were all made
up of resident country gentlemen. While to some
it is hunting and others riding, there are yet
many who seem almost equally at home in both
departments. As to overriding the pack, there
is far too much of it in many countries to-day.
Moreover, fields are larger nearly everywhere now
than they were a generation ago. The master
may be so easy-going that his good-nature is
taken advantage of, or owing to the size of the
field it is impossible for him to be everywhere
to keep order. Discipline is essential to every
hunting-field, though recruits to the sport know
not its etiquette. It is doubtless ambition that
is at the bottom of most of the overriding. The

novice is unconscious that in following So-and-so

io6

The Httnting-Field

he is shamefully overriding hounds. So-and-so
may be a leading-light in the hunting-field too.

The harm done to hounds is, that they become
slack when hunting slowly and are interfered with.
The conditions of the sport may and does vary
from day to day, and the thrusting offenders
probably drive hounds over the line on a poor
scenting day. Many who have no wish to offend
are unwittingly lured on to do so, as it is im-
possible for the second rank to see hounds all
the time. Masters are loth to resort to strong
language, or peremptorily to take hounds home.
It was this that drove Lord Lonsdale to issue a
thoroughly straightforward manifesto to second
horsemen, when he held the reins of Quorn
management. Advice on every private matter can-
not be laid down here. Some hunts will, however,
have to resort to a stringent code of rules in
due course ; Capt. Heywood Lonsdale lately issued
a memorandum in the Bicester country as regards
strangers.

107

CHAPTER XIV

SOME NOTED FOXHOUNDS

" Now he pauses a while, till he's roused by the sound
Of the sonorous horn, and the near opening hound ;
Down his cheeks the big dewdrops of sorrow fast flow ;
As increases the clamour, increases his woe."

The furore for hound-breeding set in during the
first twenty years of the eighteenth century, and
in fifty years more the greatest nobles and land-
owners were so intent on it that it became
more than a mere whim or hobby — a prominent
concern in life. Before fox-hunting came into
vogue in England all hunting was stag-hunting
on forest or moor ; the same fashion was here in
vogue as in France and Germany. A hound had
to be bred suitable for the English method of
fox-hunting, and the first hero of hound-worship
talked of in the Midlands about 1783 was Trojan.
Mr. J. Corbet of Sundorne, Shropshire, owned
him. He was a specially brilliant hound by the
Duke of Grafton's Tomboy ; his dam, a bitch
whose pedigree was not traced. Sportsmen, I
may add, travelled miles to see him. He led the
pack always, we are told. On one occasion he

jumped a wall and killed the fox single-handed.

108

Some Noted Foxhounds

The most prominent hound-breeders about this
time were, the Dukes of Devonshire, Grafton, and
Beaufort ; Lords Lincoln, Yarborough, Vernon,
Lichfield, Granby, Percival, and many others.
Then it was that ^^ Here's to the Trojans " became
a toast at many a hunt dinner. Mr. Corbet took
his pack to Warwickshire, composed of few others,
it was said, than Trojan's sons and daughters.

In those days hound-breeding was different to
now, when a kennel stud-book is ably edited by
Mr. Harry Preston of Vine Appleton, near York,
a leading follower of the York and Anisty. Then
there were no hound lists kept to serve as guides.
Hunting-men owe the Rev. C. Legard (another
Yorkshire man) a debt of gratitude, as he first
started the kennel stud-book. I must now, how-
ever, hark back to other celebrated foxhounds of
the times of John Warde, John Corbet, and the
sixth Lord Middleton.

Henry, sixth Lord Middleton of Birdsall, York-
shire, was the most liberal hound-buyer and ex-
tensive breeder of his time. He is supposed to
have bought part or whole of Col. Thornton's
pack. For Mr. Corbet's he gave 1250 guineas.
This was, we read, a bargain for hounds bred like
they were. He is reputed to have had over 2000
hounds through his hands during a long hunting
career. He bred largely in Warwickshire and at

Birdsall, and bought many hounds from the late

109

Fox-hunting Past and Present

Mr. ]. Chaworth Musters, a Quorn master in his
day. His lordship considered Vanguard that he
bred in 1815 the best hound he had ever seen.
He was got by Lord Vernon's Vaulter-Traffic,
who was one of the pack purchased from Mr.
Corbet. Lord Middleton could boast of much
of Trojan's blood in his pack. He gave most of
them to Sir Tatton Sykes, and lent him to the
then Duke of Beaufort. This pack, however,
eventually went back to the eighth Lord Middle-
ton. Most of the Trojan blood, however, was
transmitted to the present pack at Birdsall through
Mr. Arkwright's Crony, by Lord Middleton's
Chanticleer of 1851. Thousands of hounds of
to-day are easily traceable to Trojan. Crony, the
great-grandam of Driver, was the corner-stone of
the Oakley pack ; she had the Vanguard blood in
her veins too.

Celebrated hounds of the present day are far too
numerous to mention here. I have portraits before
me of two Peterborough champions in Tancred,
Warwickshire champion of 1896, and the Oakley
Dandy by Dancer out of Bonnylass, first prize
stallion foxhound of 1895 at Peterborough.

I will now pass on to another epoch of the fox-
hound and his portrait gallery. This time the
champion was '^The Squire" Osbaldeston's Fur-
rier. This noted master considered there was no

equal to his Furrier between 1820 and 1830. He

no

LORD \Vn.I.()UGIII;Y OK I'.ROKE, M.l'.H. \V AKW ICK SH 1 KK
( Photo^^raph by Messrs. Laiif^Jhr. Ltd., 23 OM Komi Street. II'. )

Some Noted Foxhounds

must have owned thousands of hounds in his day
too. A hound will always follow the man who
shows him sport even before his kennel hunts-
man. '^ Devonian" Mr. Harris of Hayne con-
sidered Furrier a "jealous beggar." Anyhow, the
name of Furrier is still with us and his blood
in many a foxhound kennel of to-day. Intelligent
reader, please note the scope of this work only
allows my treating of "some noted foxhounds,"
not "all noted foxhounds."

I now pass on to Lord Henry Bentinck's Con-
test, a direct descendant of Furrier. Contest was
lent to the then Duke of Beaufort and Lord Fitz-
hardinge. Contest was by Comus, son of Mr. Fol-
jambe's Herald, son of Osbaldeston's Ranter, son
of Furrier. Sir R. Sutton's Dryden was also by
Contest, and his best hound. The baronet's master-
ship of the Quorn was from 1847- 1856. Lord
Fitzhardinge's Cromwell by Contest was a regular
hound celebrity in Gloucestershire. Their hunts-
men never tired of talking of these "star" hounds
till their dying days. I cite the cases of John
Warde, W. Smith of the Brocklesby, and Charles
Payne, whose favourite Pytchley hound was Pilgrim.

Has not this intense love of much-prized hounds
made fox-hunting what it is ? The excuse is to
breed from great merits in the field exclusive of
good looks. However, such authorities as the late
Mr. G. S. Foljambe, Lord Portsmouth, and the

III

Fox-httnting Past and Present

late Mr. G. Lane-Fox considered that the make,
shape, and frame had to be kept up. A hound's
faults, as a horse's, are sure to come out in the
next generation. Anyhow, we may take it for
granted that Lord Coventry's Rambler, the
Brocklesby Rallywood, the Belvoir Senator, and
Weather-gage, the Grove, Barrister, the '< Drake "
Duster, the Oakley, Driver, the Grafton Woodman,
the Quorn Alfred, and the last great Belvoir hound-
hero, Dexter, are front-rank celebrities.

This rejection of faults and even plainness has
made foxhounds so superior to other canine
families that there are chances of a gem being
missed, but they are slight. Furrier of the Belvoir
was near being drafted. There is an art in draft-
ing as well as breeding. To an enthusiastic hound-
breeder estimating hunting-work is another art ;
it affords keen pleasure to a fox-hunting enthu-
siast, such as the late Mr. G. Lane-Fox. The
writer thoroughly enjoyed three seasons with the
Bramham Moor. One of these was the last, that
father of hunting, Mr. G. Lane-Fox, rode to hounds.
His favourite hound was Lord Poltimore's Archer ;
Mr, Lane-Fox bred from him after seeing his
field-work. One of his daughters was Affable ; her
Mountebank was one of the best of the Bramham
Moor pack. So much for the keen observation
of one who knows.

What of the portraits, of the galaxy of hound

112

Some Noted Foxhoimds

beauties that we may see in the historic shires ?
G. Stubbs painted Brocklesby Wonder and Ring-
wood in 1798. Lord Middleton has Trojan's
portrait. J. Fearnley, Sir E. Landseer, A. Cooper,
C. Hancock, Aiken, W. Barraud, and R. Davis
all took noticeable hounds. Vanguard's portrait
is also at Birdsall in a picture called '' Running
to Ground." J. Fearnley took Furrier for Osbal-
deston. Mr. T. Drake of Shardiloes has the
^' Drake " Duster, and the master on a white hunter.
Lord Fitzhardinge has the hound Cromwell's head
stuffed at Berkeley Castle. Tom Parrington has
a picture of the Quorn Alfred. Lord Coventry
has one of Rambler and Marksman by Lutyeus ;
while Dexter was sketched for Sir G. Greenall
by Mr. Cuthbert Bradley, and so on.

The question as to the superiority or not of
the modern foxhound to his predecessor a hun-
dred years cannot be easily settled. Then the
country was somewhat easier for hounds to cross.
In appearance the modern foxhound is the
superior. It has been said he has not his ancestor's
fine nose. It is curious to note that between the
times of the great runs then and now the differ-
ence is not very marked. Still, our ancestors were
not very accurate timekeepers ; e.g. in the famous
match at Newmarket, Mr. Barry's Bluecap is said
to have covered four miles in eight minutes !
Another run with Lord Middleton's hounds is

113 H

Fox-hunting Past and Present

timed at fifty-one miles in four hours I Hounds

can run a cold scent now as well as ever. In the

days long ago hounds were not so much pressed

as they are now, and undrained land carried a

better scent.

Although a volume this size could easily be

written round hound-lore and breeding, some

interest may be added to this chapter by tracing

the lineage of a few only of the above-noted

foxhounds to those of to-day. Such bygone

authorities as George Osbaldeston, Lord Forester,

and Mr. G. S. Foljambe studied hound merit

in a manner almost akin to science. To-day we

have many worthy successors to them. It was

the Lord Forester who took the Belvoir after

1825, who originated the idea of puppy walking,

and introduced the Osbaldeston Furrier blood.

This brought the Belvoir to the pinnacle of

hound fame on which the pack now rests. The

huntsmen, Goosey and then Will. Goodall, were

experts in hound-breeding, and introduced the

singularly beautiful stamp and type to that

kennel. The same traditions were carried on

by Frank Goodall and by Ben. Capel to-day.

Weather-gage, for instance, bred in 1876, was the

hound par excellence of the Belvoir pack in his

day. His pedigree reads as follows : By Warrior,

by Wonder-Susan, by Stormer, by Guider, son

of the ** Drake" Duster. Weather-gage's dam was

114

Some Noted Fox-honnds

Royalty, by Rambler, by Senator-Remedy, by
Rallywood. He also inherited the blood of
Sir R. Sutton's Dryden and the Osbaldeston
Ranter.

Weather-gage showed faultless excellence in
every part of a run, the first all-round. F. Gillard,
after an experience of nearly fifty years, considered
him the best he ever saw. His son Gambler out
of Gratitude beat him for looks, and was probably
the grandest hound ever bred at Belvoir. The
Weather-gage and Gambler families are very nume-
rous, their prowess in the field being so remark-
able there was a keen demand for their progeny.
Gambler was the grandson of Dexter, who had
as many as thirty-seven lines of the Osbaldeston
Furrier in him. Mr. George Osbaldeston once
brought out a pack of six-and-twenty couples
with the Pytchley all sired by Furrier. Again,
Woodman and Worcester of the Vale of White-
horse were lineal descendants of Weather-gage.

This year the Belvoir commenced the season
with 65J couple of hounds, and the fresh blood
introduced amounted to 11 J couple. The sires
Donovan and Dexter are responsible for some
of the best of the pack. Stormer is one of the
oldest hounds in the pack at nine years, and is
one of the Weather-gage family. It is beyond
the scope of this work to further dwell on the
merits of ''Star" foxhounds; every pack has its

115

Fox-hunting Past and Present

best strains. The above hound celebrities pro-
bably have descendants in every pack in the
United Kingdom.

I quote the following ideas on hound-breeding
written by Mr. R. E. Wemyss at Badminton in
November 1896. Mr. George Lane-Fox died on
the 4th November. I see by Col. ]. Anstruther-
Thomson's memoirs it may not be generally
known that Col. Thomson hunted with loi packs
in all, and Mr. Randolph Wemyss with 56. Mr.
Wemyss says: 'Mt is rather a coincidence that
three of the historic packs begin their name with
a B. The Lord Henry Bentinck who hunted
the Burton, it is said, bred the best pack of
hounds that ever hunted a fox. Brocklesby by
Rally wood, entered 1843, by Basilisk, by Sir R.
Sutton's Ringwood out of Brasila, Rosebud by
Victor out of Frolic. Will. Goodall, of Belvoir,
got him from W. Smith, huntsman at Brocklesby,
when he was six or seven years old. He prac-
tically made the Belvoir hounds at that time,
and at one time Goodall took out hunting one
pack of hounds all by Rallywood."

The same gentleman penned the following lines
also at Badminton : —

" Belvoir and Brocklesby, Badminton, Burton,

' B,' on the Button, wind up the horn ;

Over the Rides, cheer up the chase, boys,

No matter the kennel at which they were born.

116

Some Noted Fox-hounds

Belvoir for tan, and Burton for wear, sir,
Brocklesby keeping you well on the line ;

Badminton pies swing along cheerily,
Finding a scent, be it wild, be it fine.

Shades of the Belvoir, Goosey, and Goodall,
Smith with the ' Rallywood,' Brocklesby's fame,

Lord Henry Bentinck bred always for dash, sir.
Badminton hounds, a time-honoured name.

Each have their virtue, all are for hunting.

Entries put forward soon die away ;
Like many a huntsman and many a sportsman,

Leaves but a memory of a long bygone day.

Giants there lived in days which have gone by,

Hounds were they better.? or huntsmen ? Well, well ;

Keep up your standard, breed only for nose, sir,
And stoutness, of course, for one can never tell

What sport in the future may somewhere await you.
What runs we may chronicle, ride through and see ;

But always remember wherever you hunt, sir.
To look for a Button that's marked with a B."

Notwithstanding the fact that the price of " Noted

Foxhounds" was never so high as it is to-day, I

propose to lay before you the ideas of perfection

according to the fancy of Beckford, Hugo Meynell,

and Assheton Smith. The latter gentleman offered

and paid looo guineas for twenty couple of Mr.

Warde's hounds, a very high figure a century ago.

Mr. Smith had a peculiar power over his hounds,

and they a great fascination for him. Mr. Smith,

of course, never fed his hounds in the kennel.

117

Fox-hwtting Past and Present

Directly hunting was over^ he galloped home on his
hack ; the whips returning with hounds. Nimrod,
we read, considered the finest run that could be
ridden would be from Billesdon Coplow to Ranks-
borough.

P. Beckford tells us, hounds will always go to
any one who shows them sport in preference to a
person who feeds them. He thought a thin neck
was a recommendation. Mr. Smith liked ^^ throaty
hounds," for he considered that by getting rid of
the throat, the nose also disappears, and a throaty
hound invariably had a good nose. Mr. Smith's
Nelson, formerly the Duke of Rutland's, was
the perfect model of a foxhound of that day : he
answered to Hugo Meynell's well-known descrip-
tion of his ideal hound : ^' Short back, open bosom,
straight legs, and compact feet." Again, Beckford's
ideal during a previous epoch to Meynell's was :
'* Let his legs be as straight as arrows, his feet
round and not too large, his chest deep and back
broad, his head small, his neck slim, his tail thick
and bushy ; if he carries it well, so much the
better." Judges of the foxhound there are not a few,
and breeders and enthusiasts several score to-day
with whom these ideals probably still hold good.

To-day the breed probably stands as near per-
fection as it can, and I gather that F. Gillard's
record of foxes killed with the Belvoir hinges on

that, and will take some beating for all time. From

n8

Some Noted Fox-hotinds

1870 till 1896 this famous huntsman killed 2709
foxes. Considering how much they are on the
grass, it must be admitted that most packs in the
shires throw their tongue well. Cry, in the opinion
of many, is nearly as important as nose or drive,
so these three attributes are most valued in the
shires and grass countries. The cry of a pack
that hunts in the open is wonderfully improved
by hunting in the woodlands now and again, and
other things besides scent can aid in the inspira-
tion of a rousing chorus. To revert, however, to
the name of one of the fathers of fox-hunting,
Mr. T. Assheton Smith, fifty years in all an M.F.H.
He had several hounds of Burton blood in his
kennel, among them Tomboy, notorious for always
bringing home the fox's head, no matter how dis-
tant the kill.

The great Duke of Wellington was a constant
visitor to Tedworth and admirer of hounds at
Mr. Assheton Smith's seat in Hants. How
the Iron Duke chose his gallopers, and con-
sidered fox-hunters and public-school boys the
best soldiers is somewhat extraneous to this work.
However, Eton claims Mr. T. Assheton Smith and
Mr. G. Osbaldeston, M.F.H. of the Quorn twice,
1817-21, and 1823-27 ; while Hugo Meynell, M.F.H.
Quorn, 1753-1800, was a Harrow boy. Thousands
of other like cases can be easily brought to mind

by any reader of these lines.

119

Fox-hunting Past and Present

Mr. Assheton Smith would give any price for
good hounds. He offered Lord Forester 400
guineas for his bitch Careful, also 100 guineas
to Mr. Conyers for Bashful. A few more prices
of hounds early in the nineteenth century, and I
pass on to the twentieth. In 181 2 the then Lord
Middleton gave 1200 guineas for Mr. Mytton's
pack ; but their owner had played such tricks
with them they would hunt anything, " from an
elephant to an earwig." Mr. Horlock gave Mr.
Warde 2000 guineas for his when he gave up the
Craven country in 1825.

The scope of this work does not admit of details
of various Peterborough hound shows now ancient
history. It is a generally accepted truism that
there is no hound to compete at all with the
well-bred English, Scotch, or Irish foxhound, not
only for hunting the fox, but also as an improver
of other kinds of dog. When you consider the
popularity of fox-hunting nowadays, it is no
wonder that the best hounds will fetch almost any
money. I would remind you that G. Osbaldeston's
bitches fetched 100 guineas each, and Lord Polti-
more's hounds topped that figure early in the
nineteenth century. And so at the sale of the
South Cheshire hounds in May 1907 Lord Lons-
dale gave 125 guineas each for two first season
bitches, Hecuba and Warcry, and nearly 2000

guineas for 15I couples. It was said that Lord

120

Some Noted Fox-liounds

Galway's hounds fetched ;£45oo, Earl Fitzwilham
being the purchaser last year. It is an open
secret that an American sportsman would buy
either the Belvoir or the Warwickshire, presum-
ably Lord W. de Broke's, for ;£io,ooo, if he
could get the chance ; and a gentleman from the
United States has actually offered ;^5oo for two
brood bitches at Belvoir strolling about the park
in whelp. They are natural and developed pro-
ducts of these islands, and there is a demand for
them in every country ; abroad, however, through
want of management, difference of climate and soil,
they deteriorate. No foreign imported hound has
ever benefited our breed. The late Mr. Merthyr
Guest was induced to try three studhounds from
the United States, but without success.

Now that we have perfection in hounds and to
sum up, Mr. G. Osbaldeston's Furrier was acknow-
ledged the best up to his day, 1821. Since then
there have been scores of hounds as good, and
many probably better — to witness, the Belvoir
pack, one of which Dexter hunted when he was
ten and showed marvellous constitution. The late
Lord Willoughby de Broke estimated the cost of
his Warwickshire pack in many thousands, and
was one among the finest of hound judges of his
day.

121

CHAPTER XV

STRAIGHT TALKS ON HUNT SUBSCRIPTIONS-
ENTHUSIASM OF NEW BLOOD— THE STATUS
OF SHIRE AND PROVINCE

" 'Tis the first of November ! all hail to the season
The first of November, right welcome the day !
Far, sacred Diana, from Nimrod the treason
Of taking thy gifts without owning thy sway.

Sweet goddess ! what muse can most fittingly sing thee;
What crescent thy lovely brow worthily grace ?

Our cubs — bless their brushes ! the farmer has nourished,
Our puppies his gudewife most lovingly reared.

The nags fit and fresh from the meadow and boxes —
The men, proud as peacocks, in liveries new —

Oh ! happy array, servants, hounds, horses, foxes,
Oh ! thrice happy master of such a review !

See yonder the meet, right and left hearty faces,

Leathers, cords — black and red — all are smiling and bland ;

Hunters, foot people, tandems, hacks, village carts, chaises,
And, the pink of perfection, the neat four-in-hand.

Such a meeting of friends that have ' not met for ages,'
Old goers and young ones, the shufflers, the crack,

While the hounds in a corner sit silent as sages.
Twelve couple of beauties, the sweet lady pack ! "

— Bailys Magazhie.

Startling as the statement may seem, we will
suppose that some hunts are blessed with a super-
fluity of cash, while others (the majority) are at

122

straight Talks on Hunt Subscriptions

times in want of funds. There are a large number
of hunts neither too wealthy nor poor that can
always raise the necessary guaranteed money, yet
are always a trifle in debt. And there are a number
of sportsmen who, from one motive or another,
**get out" with the lowest possible subscription
annually. If a hunt debt has to be carried forward,
a few generous members may wipe it off or not ; the
small subscriber, if asked, would probably willingly
give his share. One of the most difficult and thank-
less duties of a committee is the regulation of
subscriptions, no one's susceptibilities need be
wounded at these suggestions ; they are merely
part and parcel of twentieth-century fox-hunting.

There may be nothing to be said against the
custom to graduate hunting subscriptions on a
scale of five-pound notes in the shires ; but in
a provincial country, where the majority hunt
from home, the question is different. Take the
one-day-a-week man who subscribes ;£io. It is
a big jump for him to subscribe £\^. However,
£\2 he might pay. Any small addition of this
sort would prevent that balance debt of j£ioo
or so against the hunt that we hear of at the
annual spring committee meetings. I confess I
do not like the system of sending round the hat
for hunting expenses or any other objects.

The subscriptions to the West End clubs are not

graduated on a level money scale. Why should

123

Fox-hvmting Past and Present

a level money scale be decreed for hunting sub-
scriptions ? Now as to the superfluous wealth
said to be floating about the fashionable shires.
The original idea was that if you wish to limit
your field so as to prevent overcrowding the
scale of subscriptions should be raised. Caps
are an institution in several countries now. In
the Bicester country this year a stringent order
anent strangers has been promulgated. Young
Midas would perhaps pay ;£ioo for the privilege
of hunting in the shires, rather than he would ^^5
or £\Q to hunt in a provincial country, and in
the latter he would probably see more sport in a
day than he would during a whole season in the
shires. It is surely more pleasure to hunt where
your money will be useful and your society
appreciated, than to ride in a madding crowd as
an unknown unit. We do hear the axiom, ''A hunt-
ing crowd rejoices in itself," which, as Mr. Gilbert
might say, sounds very pretty, but I don't under-
stand the meaning of it. How can we offer advice
to fashion ? It is no joy (presumably) to the
genuine hunting-man to form one of a fashionable
gathering.

The suggested remedies for overcrowding do
not hold out much hope. If an M.F.H. or
secretary refused the subscription of a new-comer
on the ground that there was not room for him,

that master would be sure to become unpopular.

124

straight Talks on Hunt Subscriptions

The quarrel engendered would become an awk-
ward one, as the hunting-field is open to all,
according to an unwritten law. I cannot imagine
a case of a subscription being refused from an
unobjectionable person for the sole reason that
there was no room for him. The annual cry is,
however, ** Still they come." There is no wish
to-day that less people should hunt : it is that
their money should be more evenly disseminated.

A magazine exploited the idea not many years
ago (five, to be exact) that the old system of hunt
clubs should be reintroduced ; that the club
should be a social one, and new members only
admitted as a vacancy occurred. They should
have the exclusive right of hunting. The scheme's
feasibility broke down at first sight. How are you
to obtain your exclusive right ? How enforce the
rights if the sporting public refused to recognise
it ? Besides, exclusive hunting rights were prac-
tically abolished here by a Lincolnshire gentleman
called Robin Hood at the end of the twelfth
century. As matters now are, some countries are
(and always will be) deserted while others are
overcrowded.

How can you make a deserted country attractive
to hunting-men ? The late Mr. Assheton Smith
answered this when he made the Tedworth country,
though he encountered the strongest opposition
from his own father. The Rev. ''Jack" Russell

125

Fox-htmfing Past and Present

hunted foxes in Devonshire ; previously they had

been done to death with sticks and stones. If

we turn back the pages of hunting history we find

that it was not so much money as sheer pluck and

determination on the M.F.H.'s part which made

hunting popular, where previously the sound of

the horn had been unknown. The M.F.H. must

have something more than the mere promise to

preserve foxes, and the committee's guarantee of

money. The assistance of the residents during the

summer is also required. We may have lost many

of the country squires owing to the depreciation

of rents ; still, others have taken their places.

The merchant and lawyer now as often as not

live in the country near the town where they carry

on business. They acquire the tastes of country

gentlemen ; a dozen packs or more are kept going

by London residents alone. As a rule he is

anxious to promote sport, and give no offence to

his predecessors on the land, who are still in some

parts presumed to be the country sportsmen. He,

the merchant, may be and is the best of fellows,

and hopes to win influence with the farmers ; still,

he is as often as not on the horns of a dilemma.

If he keeps aloof he is called lukewarm. It is

said of him his money is all right ; he is a good

man to hounds, but outside the hunting-field he

does nothing for the sport. The M.F.H. should

and often does give him every encouragement to

126

straight Talks on Hunt Stibscnptions

help summering the country. If he is still further
encouraged I feel sure we should not hear so much
of deserted provincial countries. Let the M.F.H.
make use of the new blood ! Much of the new
blood is neutral, perhaps, to sport. Enthusiasm
that mostly consists of bluster is an unmitigated
nuisance.

No doubt work as well as talk is a sine qua
non in every sport. It is easy to ride your
hobby-horse to death. The '^ new blood's" enthu-
siasm should be directed into the proper channels.
You may persuade tenant-farmers to preserve
foxes and remove wire, but it is no use badgering
them about it. Ask his opinion as a friend before
you buy a horse. You need not act upon his
advice ; but every farmer likes to be thought a good
judge of a horse. Flattery is often more efficacious
than straight talk to gain a desired end.

However, Baily's '^ Foxhunting Directory " (5s.)
gives you a detailed list of all the packs in the
United Kingdom.

Since the days of ^^Nimrod" and his contri-
butions re noble science of fox-hunting in general
to the Sporting Magazine, information about the
doings of various packs has multiplied exceedingly.
Even in Nimrod's days accounts of the runs were
tame at the end of a fortnight. One of the oldest
accounts of a hunting run is (so I gather), one

penned in 1807 by the Hon. M. Hawke in the

127

Fox-hunting Past a7td Present

county of broad acres. The style is partly verse

and partly prose. Subject, ^^The Sessay Run."

Old hunting history has but meagre accounts

of runs ; for instance, we are told Col. Thornton

backed a Hambleton fox to stand up for twenty

miles before hounds, and that the gallant fox

won the colonel his bet ; except that the fox

was a Hambleton one, no further particulars are

forthcoming. Col. Thornton did not leave many

graphic accounts of his hounds' runs and their

matches ; still, he made a sporting tour to France.

Much hunting literature that passed muster in the

early fifties would now be classed as ^'hunting

buffoonery." After Surtees' and Cecil's days many

regular hunting correspondents became accredited

to the papers. The hunting correspondent who

goes out, say, four days a week, has arduous duties

to perform. If he be a sportsman he has little to

complain of, even though his be not a bed of roses.

His presence is scarcely or ever questioned, so he

is probably a persona grata. Next to the hunt

servants he is the hardest-worked person who goes

out hunting. He has some trouble to make out

the "points" of a run, and give those incidental

touches which brighten up his narrative. This

information is very hard indeed to get sometimes.

The letters he receives from brother-sportsmen

are nearly always genial and friendly. There are

critics and critics. The greatest annoyance to him

128

straight Talks on Htmt Subscriptions

is an accident to himself or sickness in his stable.
If laid up, his brother-sportsmen generally keep
him well informed as to the doings of hounds.
Another sore annoyance to him is leaving hounds
to get his '^copy" off, and this may be the run of
the season ; a tired horse may have to be hurried
home, over rough roads, too. This will naturally
try a man's temper.

129

CHAPTER XVI

STATISTICS OF THE PRESENT DAY

" At length, returned from joyous chase,
With mirth, we'll end the day.
Which soon to Morpheus giving place,
We'll sleep our toils away."

If hunting were to cease, a large market for many
goods, it is well known, would suffer. How great
is the annual or even daily sum involved in the
upkeep of hunters and hunting accessories it is
difficult to arrive at. Mr. R. Ord, an ex-master
of hounds and still secretary to his hunt, esti-
mated that 200,000 hunters were kept, which have
cost their owners ;£io,ooo,ooo, and involved the
annual expenditure of something like ;£7,5oo,ooo.
Again, the estimate of 200,000 horses is a very
low one indeed. Of the 250 riding packs in the
United Kingdom many are out on an average three
days a week, many are out four, a few five and
even six. The two-days-a-week packs are not
particularly numerous. In these days fields are
large, almost everywhere, except in a few remote
countries. Twenty women hunt for every one
who followed hounds a generation ago, and the

fashion of having a second horse out becomes

130

statistics of the Present Day

more general every day. Then the popularity
of hunting is on the increase; many M.F'.H.'s
maintain studs outside the hunt horses, and so
do many members of hunts. For that matter,
scores of people hunt four, five, and six days a
week, and in many provincial hunts there are several
who never miss a day in their pack. In the most
popular countries fields of from three to five and
six hundred are not uncommon. Many hunters
average one full day or two half days each week.
A man who does not keep many horses will rarely
hunt one oftener than three days a fortnight.
Great allowance must, however, be made for the
horses which are hors de combat. By Christmas-
time in an average year the percentage of horses
who become lame or have sore backs is enormous.
The supply must be recruited ; so the farmer or
dealer will benefit in the long run. If not, the
owners either hire or turn harness nags into
hunters.

I next come to the value of hunters, and
give you the opinion of no mean expert, who
gave it to the hunting world in the Field. The
estimate of 200,000 hunters costing ;£io, 000,000
makes the hunter's value £^0 ; but not one real
hunter in fifty is bought for that sum. Only
the man who is skilled in horse-flesh, and is not
particular what he rides, can indulge in these
sort of nags. The average hunting man or

131

Fox-hunting Past and Present

woman pays £^o for a young sound hunter,
and the '^made" hunter in his ^' third," ^^ fourth,"
or "fifth" season at auction seldom goes below
£^0 ; and those who go to Tattersall's or follow
the auction sales at the chief marts know full
well these horses realise from ;£2oo to £^oo
apiece. To gauge the price of the raw material,
a few young horses at any of our leading dealers'
yards should be priced. Supposing a hunting-
man has the time and the desire to ''make "his
own hunters, the raw material can be purchased
at a fair price, at, say, three or four years of age.
A good field for this speculation lies (or did lie)
among the farms and fairs of Ireland.

A farmer can almost always dispose of a young
horse of hunter stamp without much difficulty,
but he has to part to the dealer at a lower price
than to the hunting-man. To revert to the
200,000 horses I mentioned above, if there were
no use for them the markets for them and their
fodder would be weakened. If hunting were to
cease or die out, the country districts would
languish. Country houses would be closed, and
much money would be spent in London and on
the Continent. The farmer is most affected by
the presence of the resident hunting-folk and
visitors. The small country towns would also
feel the depression. Without entering too fully

into the subject, the meat, milk, and grain markets

132

statistics of the Present Day

would become most depressed. I may incidentally
add that the most prosperous country places are
those best served by market and transit. The
closing of country houses after the shooting season
would be a heavy financial loss to both tenant-
farmers and their landlords.

Statistics are dry reading. These, however, are
a few for the present season. Among the stag-
hounds, the Berks and Bucks, the Devon and
Somerset, the Enfield Chase, and in Ireland the
Co. Down, have new masters ; the Devon and
Somerset, and South Westmeath changed to fox.
Lord Ribblesdale was welcomed as a new-comer,
and two hunts dropped out. Two packs, the
Berks and Bucks and Lord Ribblesdale's, both
have joint-masters.

As regards the English and Welsh packs of
foxhounds, Mr. H. W. Wells', Mr. W. B. Part-
ridge's, and Mr. W. Gordon Canning's, the Afonwy,
Llangammarch, and the Brecon make up the
new packs instead of the Thurstonfield and
Mr. Scrope's. The amalgamated countries were
Cheshire, The Hambledon, Earl Fitzwilliam's, and
Viscount Galway's. A pack that changed its name
was the Stevenstone owing to the lamented death
of the Hon. Mark Rolle. New masters had to
be found for sixteen packs. Among them the most
important were the Cheshire, Cottesmore, and
Essex and Suffolk ; while partnerships were dis-

133

Fox-hunting Past and Present

solved between Lord C. Bentinck and Mr. E.
Lubbock (owing to the latter's death) in the
Blankney, Earl Huntingdon and Col. W. Dobson,
N. Staffs, and Mr. T. H. Spry and Mr. J. A. Cooke-
Hurle of the Laraerton. The reunited Hambledon
kept one of their old masters, Capt. W. P. Standish.
Sir Hugo Fitzherbert replaced Mr. Penn Sherbrooke
in Yorks. Of course Earl Fitzwilliam assumed
the leadership of his united country. The only
other M.F.H. enjoying the dual distinction is
Mr. W. E. C. Curre, M.F.H. of his own and the
Monmouth packs. This made twenty-six changes
with English packs ; while Lord Southampton
assumed the mastership of the E. Kilkenny and
Lord de Clifford gave up his pack in Mayo
during the season. Early in the season the
Ormondes, an old-established pack in King's Co.,
had to be given up owing to the action of the
V. L League. One lady master entered upon
this season in Ireland, Miss E. Somerville, with
the West Carbery. Here we have two, in Mrs.
Hughes, Neuaddfaur, and Mrs. Burrell, North
Northumberland.

The peerage is represented by the Dukes of
Beaufort and Westminster, Lord Lonsdale, Lord
C. Bentinck, Marquis of Zetland, Earl Manvers,
Earl of Yarborough, Earl Fitzwilliam, Earl of
Harrington, Lord H. Nevile, Lord Fitzhardinge,
Lord Middleton, Viscount Portman, Lord Annaly,

134

statistics of the Present Day

Viscount Helmsley, M.P., and Viscount Tredegar ;
and in Ireland, Lord Southampton and Marquis
of Waterford (21).

The baronetage and knightage are represented
as follows : Sir G. Greenall, Bart. ; Sir T. Hume-
Campbell, Bart. ; Sir H. M. Fitzherbert ; Sir E. W.
Pryse, Bart. ; Sir W. Cooke, Bart. ; Sir W. Austin ;
Sir R. Rycroft, Bart., and Sir W. Wynn, Bart.
The Right Hon. J. W. Lowther, M.P., and four
other M.P.'s come in here. Hon. G. W. H. Russell
(since Viscount Boyne), and Hon. C. E. Russell,
Mr. G. R. Lane-Fox, and Mr. D. Davies.

Among the retired naval and military officers
are Lt.-Cols. C. *E. Goulbourn, P. J. Browne,

C. B. Godman, ]. A. F. Garratt, and Cardwell,

D. F. Boles, A. C. Newland, E. H. Brooke,
H. Lewis, and Major C. Jackson ; Capts. Christie,
W. P. Standish, R. Heygate, Spence Jones,
F. Forester, R. Haig, H. A. Kinglake, Viscount
Tredegar ; Messrs. F. B. Atkinson and A. Scott-
Browne.

The Church is represented by two : the Revs.

E. A. Milne and E. M. Reynolds.

The grand total number of foxhounds for
England and Wales is 170.

The six-days-a-week packs being the Duke of
Beaufort's, the Cheshire, Lord Harrington's, and
Lord Leconfield's ; the Border, the Cattistock,
the East Cornwall, the Flint and Denbigh ; the

135

Fox-huj^ting Past and Present

H. H., the Silverton, the Southwold, the Tetcott,
and the Western are under joint management,
and one, the Farndale, is in the hands of a com-
mittee. I do not deal with the large number of
resignations and changes on the cards, ere next
season commences.

As to opening days in the last season, I may record
the interesting fact that the Fenny Compton Wharf
meet was actually the seventy-fourth consecutive
opening fixture of the Bicester attended by that
staunch fox-hunter, Mr. Knott; w^hose memory
must therefore go back even to the days when
the first Mr. Tyrwhitt Drake hunted the country,
and no other than Will Goodall, of subsequent
Belvoir fame (sire of the equally illustrious "Will
the Second," twenty-one years huntsman to the
Pytchley), was turning hounds to Tom Wingfield.
This is an extraordinary fox-hunting record to
look back upon.

Among those who last season greeted the new
Master of the Tedworth on his first day was
another unfailing Nimrod, Mr. J. T. Powell, of
Easton Royal, who has not missed an opening
meet in that country for sixty-two years, and
delights to recall the days when as a youth he
saw the celebrated Assheton Smith and his grey-
pie pack bring many a stout Wiltshire fox to
book. These veterans are always interesting to

listen to, and Mr. Powell recounts the story of that

136

statistics of the Present Day

glorious Tedworth run of 1858, when they found as
bold a fox as ever stood before hounds at Manning-
ford Bohune, and with irresistible drive ran all
along the Pewsey Vale, through Savernake Forest,
and right on to Hungerford, where they killed in
the harness-room at Standen House — " nineteen
miles as the crow flies, a nice bit farther, allowing
for turns, and just five minutes over the two
hours."

Every country has its honoured '' Father of the
Hunt," whose heart is still in the sport, though
in his declining years he may be able only to
get occasional glimpses of it from the pony-trap.
There are, however, wonderful instances on record
of nonagenarian followers of hounds ; and it was
only last winter that the death occurred of Mr.
Richard Gillow, the father of the Vale of Lune
Hunt, who hunted up to the age of ninety-eight ;
whilst Mr. Robert Abbott, the oldest member of
the Bilsdale Hunt — ninety-three or ninety-four, I
think, is what he confesses to — not content with
the performances of his own pack alone, must
needs ride over the border now and again ''just
to see what the Hurworth are doing." Dryden's
well-known lines —

" Better to hunt in fields for health unbought
Than fee the doctor for a nauseous draught " —

have often been laid with flattering unction to
the fox-hunter's soul ; but surely in the cases just

137

Fox-hunting Past and Present

enumerated we have proof positive to-day that,
barring accident, hunting is conducive to long
Hfe, health, and happiness, the three greatest
blessings mortal man can have.

No more notable examples of longevity pro-
moted by sport with horse and hound have been
furnished than by our M.F.H.'s themselves. The
late Mr. John Lawrence was still in office as
Master of the Llangibby when, at the age of ninety-
four, he paid his last debt to Nature a few seasons
ago. Though unable to ride to hounds during
the last six or seven years of his life, it was won-
derful how he used to get across rough country
'' on wheels," and thus he managed to see a good
deal of the sport almost to the last, but a spill
from the carriage unluckily caused a broken leg,
and that, it is to be feared, hastened his regretted
death. He had been Master of the Llangibby
since 1856 ; but, for a long period before he
took to foxhounds, he had shown sport with his
Cwmbran harriers, and it is estimated that his
hunting career lasted altogether something like
seventy-six years. Perhaps there was never a
more touching incident in the annals of fox-
hunting than when what was supposed to be
his ninetieth birthday — it was afterwards dis-
covered to be his ninety-first — was celebrated by
the presentation to him of his portrait ; and it

was a mere superfluity on the part of the reporter

13S

a

= ^

en V

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= c!

> -rt

O ^5

statistics of the Present Day

who stated that a lump came in the throats of
those present when the venerable sportsman in
his reply declared : '* I cannot ride to hounds
now, yet I do assure you their music is very,
very dear to me." At Biggleswade Mr. George
Race still keeps a pack of harriers, as he has
done since 1840, and in 1907 started his sixty-
seventh season as an M.F.H. ; in fact, the proud
distinction is his of having held one office for
a longer period than any other master, whether
of foxhounds, staghounds, or harriers, for he has
passed the record of the late Mr. John Crozier,
who for no fewer than sixty-four years was Master
of the Blencathra foxhounds in one of the wildest
and roughest regions of Cumberland.

No longer an M.F.H., Mr. Robert Watson, of
Ballydarton, can yet carry his thoughts back over
nearly sixty years of active managements of the
Carlow and Island hounds, which were hunted
by his father before him ; and if asked to what
he attributed his great vitality, even at the pre-
sent day, like Colonel Anstruther-Thomson (who
lived to publish '' Eighty Years' Reminiscences"),
he would, in all probability, answer with the
familiar line, ^' I owe it to horse and to hound."
Only a few seasons ago Mr. Watson was paying
a visit to the Meath country (over which his son
has ruled so successfully), and he astonished every
one by getting away with the hounds and re-

139

Fox-himting Past and Present

maining in front during a quick thing in the
southern country. Being compHmented upon the
sensation he had created, the veteran repHed,
with just a suspicion of scorn in his tone :
^'What! did they expect to see me come out
in a bath-chair, then ? "

Among Irish M.F.H.'s at present in office Mr.
de Sahs Filgate now holds the longest record,
for he has hunted the Louth Country since i860,
while in England the distinction belongs to Lord
Portman, for, although his father nominally held
the mastership during his lifetime, his active
superintendence of the pack dated from 1858.
There have been several other masterships of
half a century and upwards. Not many seasons
ago the late Mr. T. C. Garth celebrated his jubilee
as M.F.H. shortly before his retirement; and to
go back into earlier pages of hunting history, we
find the late Mr. T. Walton Knolles kept the sport
going in the South Union country in Ireland for
fifty years or more, and that Devonshire has
known a mastership of similar duration — that of
Mr. Elias Tremlett, a contemporary of the Rev.
''Jack" Russell. Then the famous Squire Far-
quharson hunted an enormous tract of country
comprising the South Dorset and much of the
Blackmore Vale and Cattistock from 1806 to 1858,
six days a week, and at his own expense ; Mr.

Boothby, father of ^' Prince " Boothby, had a

140

statistics of the Present Day

record as M.F.H. of fifty-five years ; and Mr.
John Warde (^* Glorious John ") must have kept
foxhounds almost as long, though he moved so
much from one country to another that one
cannot be exact as to dates. Undoubtedly these
long reigns in times past and present, setting
up as they have done an example of steadfast de-
votion to the sport, have done much to strengthen
the position of fox-hunting in this country, and
the wish naturally arises that many of those
sportsmen who are showing us good sport to-day
may, in due time, celebrate their jubilee also.

141

APPENDICES

APPENDIX I

BILLESDEN COPLOW POEM

\_From ^^Reminiscences of the late Thomas Assheton Smith, Esq.''^'\

The run celebrated in the following verses took place on
the 24th of February, 1800, when Mr. Meynell hunted
Leicestershire, and has since been known as the Billesden
Coplow Run. It will only cease to interest, says a writer
in the Sporting Magazine, when the grass shall grow in
winter in the streets of Melton Mowbray. They found
in the covert from which the song takes its name, thence
to Skeffington Earths, past Tilton Woods, by Tugby and
Whetstone, where the field, as many as could get over,
crossed the river Soar. Thence the hounds changing
their fox, carried a head to Enderby Gorse, where they
lost him, after a chase of two hours and fifteen minutes,
the distance being twenty-eight miles. A picture de-
scriptive of this famous run was painted by Loraine
Smith, Esq., who was one of the few who got over the
river, and was until very lately in the possession of Robert
Haymes, Esq., of Great Glenn, Leicestershire. In this
painting, which shows the field in the act of crossing the
Soar, we see Mr. Germaine, who has just crossed it, and
was the only one out that day who did so on horseback.
Mr. Musters is in the middle of the stream, and on the
point of throwing himself off his horse, who is too much
distressed to carry him over. The other horsemen in the
picture are Jack Raven the huntsman. Lord Maynard,

145 K

Appendix I

and his servant, who are all three coming up towards the
stream. Mr. Loraine Smith, " the Enderby Squire," who
of course well knows the locality, is crossing a ford on
foot, and leading his horse, higher up the stream. The
hounds are seen ascending the hill on the opposite side,
in full cry, leaving Enderby village and church to the left.
The song was written by the Rev. Robert Lowth, son of
the eminent Bishop of London of that name. The reverend
divine was one of the field, being on a visit at Melton
at that time, and wrote the song at the request of the
Honourable George Germaine, brother of Lord Sackville,
afterwards Duke of Dorset, in consequence of some in-
correct accounts of the run which had been published.

POEM ON THE FAMOUS BILLESDEN
COPLOW RUN

By the Rev. Robert Lowth

'* Quaeque ipse miserrima vidi,
Et quorum pars magna fui."

With the wind at north-east, forbiddingly keen.

The Coplow of Billesden ne'er witness'd, I ween,

Two hundred such horses and men at a burst,

All determined to ride — each resolved to be first.

But to get a good start over-eager and jealous.

Two thirds, at the least, of these very fine fellows

So crowded, and hustled, and jostled, and cross'd.

That they rode the wrong way, and at starting were lost.

In spite of th' unpromising state of the weather.

Away broke the fox, and the hounds close together :

A burst up to Tilton so brilliantly ran.

Was scarce ever seen in the mem'ry of man.

146

Appendix I

What hounds guided scent, or which led the way,

Your bard — to their names quite a stranger — can't say ;

Though their names had he known, he is free to confess,

His horse could not show him at such a death-pace.

Villiers, Cholmondeley, and Forester made such sharp play,

Not omitting Germaine, never seen till to-day :

Had you judged of these four by the trim of their pace,

At Bibury you'd thought they'd been riding a race.

But these hounds with a scent, how they dash and they fling.

To o'er-ride them is quite the impossible thing ;

Disdaining to hang in the wood, through he raced.

And the open for Skeffington gallantly faced ;

Where headed and foil'd, his first point he forsook,

And merrily led them a dance o'er the brook.

Pass'd Galby and Norton, Great Stretton and Small,

Right onward still sweeping to old Stretton Hall ;

Where two minutes' check served to show at one ken

The extent of the havoc 'mongst horses and men.

Such sighing, such sobbing, such trotting, such walking ;

Such reeling, such halting, of fences such baulking ;

Such a smoke in the gaps, such comparing of notes ;

Such quizzing each other's daub'd breeches and coats :

Here a man walk'd afoot who his horse had half kill'd.

There you met with a steed who his rider had spill'd :

In short, such dilemmas, such scrapes, such distress,

One fox ne'er occasion'd, the knowing confess.

But, alas ! the dilemmas had scarcely began,

On for Wigston and Ayleston he resolute ran,

Where a few of the stoutest now slacken'd and panted,

And many were seen irretrievably planted.

The high road to Leicester the scoundrel then cross'd,

As Tell-tale ^ and Beaufremont ^ found to their cost ;

^ Mr. Forester's horse. "^ Mr. Maddock's horse.

147

Appendix I

And Villiers esteem'd it a serious bore,

That no longer could Shuttlecock ^ fly as before ;

Even Joe Miller's ^ spirit of fun was so broke,

That he ceased to consider the run as a joke.

Then streaming away, o'er the river he splashed, —

Germaine close at hand, off the bank Melon ^ dash'd.

Why so stout proved the Dun, in a scamper so wild ?

Till now he had only been rode by a Child.*

After him plunged Joe Miller with Musters so slim,

Who twice sank, and nearly paid dear for his whim,

Not reflecting that all water Melons must swim.

Well soused by their dip, on they brush'd o'er the bottom,

With hquor on board, enough to besot 'em.

But the villain, no longer at all at a loss,

Stretch'd away like a d — 1 for Enderby Gorse :

Where meeting with many a brother and cousin.

Who knew how to dance a good hay in the furzen ;

Jack Raven ^ at length coming up on a hack,

That a farmer had lent him, whipp'd off the game pack.

Running sulky, old Loadstone ^ the stream would not swim,

No longer sport proving a magnet to him.

Of mistakes, and mishaps, and what each man befel.

Would the muse could with justice poetical tell !

Bob Grosvenor on Plush "^ — though determined to ride —

Lost, at first, a good start, and was soon set aside ;

Though he charged hill and dale, not to lose this rare chase,

On velvet. Plush could not get a footing, alas !

To Tilton sail'd bravely Sir Wheeler O'Cuff,

Where neglecting, through hurry, to keep a good luff,

1 Lord Villiers' horse. - Mr. Musters' horse.

3 Mr. Germaine's horse. '^ Formerly Mr. Child's.

5 The name of the huntsman. ^ The huntsman's horse.

7 Mr. Robert Grosvenor's horse.

148

Appendix I

To leeward he drifts — how provoking a case !

And was forced, though reluctant, to give up the chase.

As making his way to the pack's not his forte,

Sir Lawley,^ as usual, lost half of the sport.

But then the profess'd philosophical creed,

That " all's for the best,"— of Master Candide,

If not comfort Sir R., reconcile may at least ;

For, with this supposition, his sport is the best.

Orby Hunter, who seem'd to be hunting his fate.
Got falls, to the tune of no fewer than eight.
Bashan's king,^ upon Glimpse,^ sadly out of condition,
PuU'd up, to avoid of being tired the suspicion.
Og did right so to yield ; for he very soon found,
His worst had he done, he'd have scarce glimpsed a hound.
Charles Meynell, who lay very well with the hounds.
Till of Stretton he nearly arrived at the bounds,
Now discovered that Waggoner * rather would creep,
Than exert his great prowess in taking a leap ;
But when crossing the turnpike, he read i^° " Put on here,"
'Twas enough to make any one bluster and swear.
The Waggoner feeling familiar the road,
Was resolved not to quit it ; so stock still he stood.
Yet prithee, dear Charles ! why rash vows will you make,
Thy leave of old Billesden ^ to finally take ?
Since from Legg's Hill,^ for instance, or perhaps Melton

Spinney,
If they go a good pace, you are beat for a guinea !

^ Sir Robert Lawley, called Sir Lawley in the Melton dialect.
2 Mr. Oglander, familiarly called Og. ' Mr. Oglander's horse.
"* Mr. C. Meynell's horse.

^ He had threatened never to follow the hounds again from Billesden,
on account of his weight.

® A different part of the hunt.

149

Appendix I

'Tis money, they say, makes the mare to go kind ;

The proverb has vouch'd for this time out of mind ;

But though of this truth you admit the full force,

It may not hold so good of every horse.

If it did, Ellis Charles need not bustle and hug,

By name, not by nature, his favourite Slug.^

Yet Slug as he is — the whole of this chase

Charles ne'er could have seen, had he gone a snail's pace.

Old Gradus,2 whose fretting and fuming at first

Disqualify strangely for such a tight burst,

Ere to Tilton arrived, ceased to pull and to crave,

And though fresh/j-/^ at Stretton, he stepp'd 2i pas gravel

Where, in turning him over a cramp kind of place,

He overturn'd George, whom he threw on his face ;

And on foot to walk home it had sure been his fate,

But that soon he was caught, and tied up to a gate.

Near Wigston occurr'd a most singular joke,
Captain Miller averr'd that his leg he had broke, —
And bemoan'd, in most piteous expressions, how hard,
By so cruel a fracture, to have his sport marr'd.
In quizzing his friends he felt little remorse.
To finesse the complete doing up of his horse.
Had he told a long story of losing a shoe.
Or of laming his horse, he very well knew
That the Leicestershire creed out this truism worms,
"Lost shoes and dead beat are synonymous terms."
So a horse must here learn, whatever he does.
To die game — as at Tyburn — and " die in his shoes."
Bethel Cox, and Tom Smith, Messieurs Bennett and

Hawke,
Their nags all contrived to reduce to a walk.

1 Mr. Charles Ellis's horse. ^ Mr. George Ellis's horse.

Appendix I

Maynard's Lord, who detests competition and strife,
As well in the chase as in social life,
Than whom nobody harder has rode in his time,
But to crane here and there now thinks it no crime,
That he beat some crack riders most fairly may crow.
For he lived to the end, though he scarcely knows how.

With snaffle and martingale held in the rear,
His horse's mouth open half up to his ear ;
Mr. Wardle, who threaten'd great things over night, ^
Beyond Stretton was left in most terrible plight.
Too lean to be press'd, yet egg'd on by compulsion,
No wonder his nag tumbled into convulsion.
Ah ! had he but lost a fore shoe, or fell lame,
'Twould only his sport have curtail'd, not his fame.
Loraine,2 — than whom no one his game plays more safe,
Who the last to the first prefers seeing by half, —
What with nicking ^ and keeping a constant look-out.
Every turn of the scent surely turn'd to account.
The wonderful pluck of his horse surprised some,
But he knew they were making point blank for his

home.
" Short home " to be brought we all should desire.
Could we manage the trick like the Enderby Squire.*

Wild Shelley,^ at starting all ears and all eyes.
Who to get a good start all experiment tries,
Yet contrived it so ill, as to throw out poor Gipsy,^
Whom he rattled along as if he'd been tipsy,

1 Said to have threatened that he would beat the whole field.

2 Mr. Loraine Smith. =* A term of reproach.
* Where Mr. Loraine Smith lives ^ Usually very grave.
^ Sir John Shelley's mare.

Appendix I

To catch them again ; but, though famous for speed,
She never could touch ^ them, much less get a lead.
So dishearten'd, disjointed, and beat, home he swings,
Not much unlike a fiddler hung upon strings.

An H. H. 2 who in Leicestershire never had been, I

So of course such a tickler ne'er could have seen, |

Just to see them throw off, on a raw horse was mounted, ,

Who a hound had ne'er seen, nor a fence had confronted. j

But they found in such style, and went off at such score, i

That he could not resist the attempt to see more : i

So with scrambling, and dashing, and one rattling fall, I

He saw all the fun, up to Stretton's white Hall. |

There they anchor'd, in plight not a little distressing —
The horse being raw, he of course got a dressing. ^

That wonderful mare of Vanneck's, who till now :

By no chance ever tired, was taken in tow : \

And what's worse, she gave Van such a devilish jog
In the face with her head, plunging out of a bog, ;

That with eye black as ink, or as Edward's famed Prince, i

Half blind has he been, and quite deaf ever since. j

But let that not mortify thee, Shackaback; ^ i

She only was blown, and came home a rare hack. 1

i
There Craven too stopp'd, whose misfortune, not fault, |

His mare unaccountably vex'd with string-halt ; '

And when she had ceased thus spasmodic to prance, ^

Her mouth 'gan to twitch with St. Vitus's dance. \

^ Melton dialect for " overtake." ^

2 These initials may serve either for Hampshire hog or Hampshire j

Hunt. I

•^ A name taken from Blue Beard, and given to Mr. Vanneck by his \

Melton friends. ,|

152 'I

Appendix I

But how shall described be the fate of Rose Price,
Whose fav'rite white gelding convey'd him so nice
Through thick and through thin, that he vow'd and

protested ^
No money should part them, as long as life lasted ?
But the pace that effected which money could not :
For to part, and in death, was their no distant lot.
In a fatal blind ditch Carlo Khan's ^ powers fail'd,
Where nor lancet nor laudanum either avail'd.
More care of a horse than he took, could take no man ;
He'd more straw than would serve any lying-in woman.
Still he died ! — yet just how, as nobody knows,
It may truly be said, he died " under the Rose."
At the death of poor Khan, Melton feels such remorse.
That they've christen'd that ditch, " The Vale of White

Horse."

Thus ended a chase, which for distance and speed
It's fellow we never have heard of or read.
Every species of ground ev'ry horse does not suit.
What's a good country hunter may here prove a brute ;
And, unless for all sorts of strange fences prepared,
A man and his horse are sure to be scared.
This variety gives constant life to the chase ;
But as Forester says — " Sir, what kills, is the pace."
In most other countries they boast of their breed,
For carrying, at times, such a beautiful head ;
But these hounds to carry a head cannot fail.
And constantly too, for, — by George, — there's no tail.
Talk of horses, and hounds, and the system of kennel,
Give me Leicestershire nags, and the hounds of Old Meynell!

^ At the cover side a large sum was offered for it.
^ Mr. Price's horse.

APPENDIX II

A LEAF FROM THE "PYTCHLEY"

[By H. C. B.]

Up at last ! What a summer's day !

Soft, and sleepy, and still !
Just a whisper of wind caresses my cheek

As I breast the top of the hill.
Golden and grey the sky above ;

Meadows — golden and green below.
'Twas a different picture met my eye

Only a short six months ago !

For the leafy branches bend and sway,

And murmur in sweet unrest
A vague response to the sun's fierce rays,

And a promise but half expressed ;
Softly the feathery blossoms fall.

Disturbed by the zephyr's breath,
In a quivering shower of summer snow.

On to the soft green turf beneath.

How the buried thoughts of a day "gone by"

Come swiftly hurrying back !
They are here once more ! I can see them all-

The field and the bustling pack ;

155

Appendix II

So I sit me down, and I close my eyes —

Forgetting life's cares and ills —
And lose myself in a rattling burst

Of an eight-mile point to the hills.

There is the old fox-covert, larches, and oak, and fir,

And gorse. At the corner, waiting, are the cream of

Leicestershire,
Mute, and anxious, and hopeful, hardly daring to stir.
Not a voice is heard, not a whisper, not a breath of wind

in the air.
Silence ! such tension if prolonged
Would be more than one's nerves could bear.

But the gorse is bending, and shaking ; bracken, and

brush, and fern
Are torn and riven asunder by muzzle and waving stern,
As Reynard within eludes them by many a wary turn.
It's getting too hot to hold him ; the covert rings with

the cry
Of that glorious Pytchley chorus, that maddening melody.
As twenty couples of " ladies " proclaim that this fox

shall die.

He's scarcely a second before them ; he cannot much

longer stay.
See ! the whip's cap high on the sky-line ! At last they've

got him away.
Yonder he goes at the corner, and the whisk of his brush

seems to say,
" You'll have to gallop, my beauties, if you mean to

catch me to-day ! "

156

Appendix II

Shall I repeat the story ? No ; it were best untold.

Forty fair minutes he took us — minutes more prized

than gold ;
Than gold refined in the furnace, than the wealth of

Golconda's store —
And they pulled him down in " the open." 'Twas an

eight-mile point — no more.

157

APPENDIX III

These lines were penned by Mr. H. Cumberland-Bentley
for his " Songs and Verses," in memory of Captain " Bay "
Middleton, who was killed near Rugby in 1895. Other
notable hunting - men killed by falls from their horses
have been : Henry, third Marquis of Waterford, March 29,
1859; Major J. G. Whyte-Melville, December 5, 1878;
Captain Jock Trotter in Worcestershire (he had been
M.F.H. of the Meaths ten seasons); Captain Park- Yates,
M.F.H. N. Cheshire; and in 1907 the widely mourned
and lamented Lord Chesham, &c. &c.

R. I. P.

Clad in the scarlet that he loved to wear,
Whip still grasped firmly in the stiffening hand.

They found him lying there ;
And to the crowded gathering on the hill

Swiftly the tidings sped ;
And strickened voices whispered in dismay,

" Bay " Middleton is dead !

Dead — in the glorious strength of manhood's prime,
Dead in the promise of the sweet spring-time,

• ■ • • » • •

And so . . .

With solemn pace and slow,
They bore away what once rejoiced in life
And now in death lay low.

159

Appendix III

Tears falling fast — good-bye, dead friend, good-bye !
Good-bye ; brave heart, that never yet knew fear !
In the hereafter we shall meet again,

Although not here.
You have our tears, our prayers,
These fragrant blossoms white

We lay upon thy bier. . . .

And in the future, in the many days

That will so swiftly come, so swiftly go.

We still shall grieve thee gone ! and you perchance

That we thy loss are sorrowing still may know.

And we shall miss you at the covert-side.

Or when the hounds are drawing "Scotland " wood.

Or " go away " with breast-high scent, we still

Shall miss the gallant figure leading us

In the quick burst across the Cottesbrooke Vale,

Or at the " meeting," when the oft-heard cry

Rings out no more, " ' Bay ' wins on Doneraile ! "

Tears falling fast — for we have left you now
In God's own acre. May you find repose !
Done with all pain, all sorrow, all regret ;
Sleeping a dreamless sleep, until one day
A glad awakening may your eyes unclose.

The author regrets that portraits of Hugo Meynell,
T. Assheton Smith, Colonel J. Anstruther-Thomson, the
eighth and present Duke of Beaufort, and many more
noted fox-hunters have been unavoidably crowded out of
this work.

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