THE EIGHTH DUKE OF BEAUFORT 



which was quite worthy of the name and lineage of 

 her house." 



Of the characters of the hunting-field at this time, 

 one of the best known was the famous hunting 

 sweep, whose portrait appears on page 126. 



An amusing account of this man. Vizard of 

 Chipping Sodbury, is given with the picture as it 

 appears in an old magazine, — " His habit as he lives 

 is by the cunning of the designer placed before the 

 reader as faithfully as if it were in a mirror . . . 

 that implement of his craft which is seen embellish- 

 ing his sinister breast is an inseparable companion 

 known familiarly as his bouquet. It was at the close 

 of a crack run that the courteous Duke of Beaufort 

 addressed him with ' Well, Mr. Vizard, were you 

 in at the death ? ' * There are strong symptoms of 

 it, for your Grace may perceive I have got the 

 brush.' 



" On Saturday sennight the favourite meet took 

 place on the lawn in front of Badminton House, 

 and, as usual, was quite a show day. The weather 

 being fine, there was a strong muster of carriages 

 with female branches of the neighbouring gentry, 

 and amono^st the horsemen were the Duke of 

 Beaufort, the young Marquis of Worcester, the Earl 

 of Wilton, Lord Andover, Lord Seymour, Mr. C. 

 W. Codrington, M.P., Mr. R. B. Hale, M.R, Mr. 

 Neeld, M.P., Mr. Ramsden, M.P., Captain Boldero, 

 M.P., and others, comprising altogether a well- 

 appointed field of 300, including last, not least, an 



124 



