18G9] LOED CAMPERDOWN. 323 



them burst into tears, and when I inquired what could be 

 the matter, she told me the story which I have above related, 

 and that " Father's vote was gone beyond recall." — C. M. 



Lord Camperdown once came down from Oxford to a 

 coursing match liis uncle's tenants had got up at Weston. 

 He soon found it rather slow, so did not rest till he had 

 borrowed Mr. Eainbow's horse, which he rode at a wide 

 place in the brook which runs between Barton and Weston. 

 The bank broke, and he got a regular souser. It is not 

 at all unlikely that he travelled back to Oxford in his wet 

 clothes. I have known him skate at Compton Verney all 

 (lay, and then start off to walk back to Weston (seventeen 

 miles) quite late at night. He had a very bad fall near 

 Watergall once, and lamed his horse, and had to walk him 

 ])ack to Weston. I got Mrs. Verney to write to Lady 

 Camperdown to ask how he got home. The answer was 

 that " it was the first she had heard of it." I remember 

 how he bought his best brook jumper. He was a very 

 common looking horse, but he told me that he saw a whip 

 of H.M. Staghounds ride him through a pond, and jump 

 out of it over some very high rails on to the G.W.R., and 

 that he determined he would have him, which he did, and 

 rode him for many seasons. 



I remember once we ran a fox into a patch of gorse 

 near White's Bushes. The huntsman was not there, and I 

 •came up rather in a flurry, saying, " AVhere is he ? Where 

 is he? " " Hush ! " said Mr. Holland Corbett, " Camper- 

 down's going to have the brook." I looked down the 

 valley, and there was his lordship riding straight down 

 the hill away from the hounds, at the brook in the 

 bottom. 



I asked Lord Camperdown one season how many falls 

 he had had. " I've had fifty," he said, "but then I gave 

 Jip counting''' I made a nonsense rhyme about it : 



Some sportsmen there were who would scamj^er down, 

 At fences after Lord Camperdown ; 

 But when this young Earl got his fiftieth purl, 

 They ceased to follow Lord Camperdown. 



Y 2 



