The Merry Past 



his servants to call him at five o'clock in the morning 

 on hunting days, and to pull him out of bed and dress 

 him, though he should resist or be unwilling to awake. 

 In this order his Grace was implicitly obeyed, though 

 he defended himself from the assailants with blows 

 and imprecations. 



There even existed ardent supporters of the chase 

 who knew nothing of hunting, and did not follow their 

 own hounds. 



About 1804 the Shropshire foxhounds were sup- 

 ported at the sole cost of Mr. Cresset Pelham, who 

 never dreamt of such a thing as looking at them 

 himself ! A bachelor, and possessing a fine fortune, 

 he devoted the greater portion of it to this establish- 

 ment. Mr. Pelham was a very eccentric character 

 in many ways, having been most indifferent about 

 his dress, whilst his household was conducted at a 

 minimum of expense ; nevertheless, he -was by no 

 means a miser, and was most generous to the poor. 

 His benevolence in this direction sometimes assumed 

 strange forms ; on one occasion he took off his shirt 

 to cover a beggar woman. 



When the Shropshire hounds were in Mr. Pelham's 

 possession, the hunt servants rode in white, so that at 

 any distance there was no difficulty in distinguishing 

 them from the rest of the field. 



Variations from the usual costume in the case of 

 hunt servants was not uncommon in the past. 



When Oldaker hunted the Old Berkeley, he and 

 his men were dressed in yellow plush ; the members 

 in scarlet with yellow collars. This dress had 



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