CHAPTER VII 

 Famous Servants of the Badminton Hunt 



WITH the exceptions of the Belvoir and the 

 Pytchley, no hunt in England has such a 

 roll of servants as the Badminton. 



If we turn back to the earliest days, we find that 

 Beckford refers to the " famous Will Crane." This 

 man was considered the best huntsman of his day. 

 Tall and powerfully built, he was a strong horse- 

 man, who could, in spite of his weight, always 

 manage to be with his hounds. Too great love 

 of the bottle caused his retirement at last. To him 

 succeeded Thomas Ketch, a man wholly devoted 

 to sport and to his hounds. But he was a little 

 rough with his tongue when spoken to by irrespon- 

 sible persons. His master, the fifth Duke, recog- 

 nised, however, that he had but the faults of his 

 qualities. Ketch continued to carry the horn until 

 old age obliged him to retire on a pension. Thomas 

 Alderton, his successor, was one of those men who 

 are first-rate as whippers-in, but of little use as 

 huntsmen. As Alderton was a man of sound 



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