36 MEMORIES OF THE SHIRES 



their boys going well across country because they 

 do not exhibit much excellence at first. 



I have seen Mr. Beaumont Lubbock in a fast 

 gallop ride brilliantly to hounds, but he was too 

 courteous and unselfish in a scramble for a start. 

 His horses were always good and his horsemanship 

 perfect. I have had the pleasure of hunting with 

 him for twenty seasons, but have never seen him 

 lose his temper or speak crossly to anyone. The 

 man with this record, who hunts and who is also a 

 martyr to the gout, is the nearest approach to a 

 saint that I can imagine. 



These are a few of the Melton men whom I can 

 remember, but there are many others, just as good 

 riders, whose names I cannot recall and who were 

 only with us for a season or two. Beyond Melton, 

 out in the country and round Oakham, men lived 

 who, we expected to see regularly every Cottesmore 

 Saturday, and usually with the Quorn. The best 

 all-round man I always considered to be Mr. Cecil 

 Chaplin, as he not only rode well, but knew what 

 hounds were doing. 



Before I became correspondent to the Field, I 

 generally hunted with the Cottesmore on Tuesdays. 

 Neal was then huntsman, and though he was not a 

 great artist, he showed some very good sport. The 

 Goslings were familiar figures at every meet, and 

 were all real good sportsmen. We have some of 

 the family with us still ; but the ever cheery 

 " Colonel " we have not seen for years, and the 

 " Old Goose," I am sorry to say, is dead. Mr. 

 Henry Callander and Mr. Granville Farquhar were 

 hard men to beat, but it was a pleasure to ride a 

 run in their company, as they were always cheery 



