THE EIGHTH DUKE OF BEAUFORT 



of the hunt, and the pecuHar uniform also having 

 its influence, the members of the Duke's field 

 have always regarded themselves as a sort of 

 chosen people among foxhunters. Indeed, they 

 have been fortunate, and consequently the hunt 

 has drawn to itself a full share of hard riders and 

 keen sportsmen. 



Two other influences have greatly increased the 

 fame of the Badminton hunt. In the early days 

 of the eighth Duke, when he was still known as 

 Lord Glamorgan, the hounds hunted the Heythrop 

 country. Thus few Oxford men in the days of 

 our fathers but learned to look on a day with " the 

 Duke " as the greatest of pleasures. Then, too, 

 the hunt was one of the first to become accessible 

 by rail. It was and is possible to travel down 

 from town by the Great Western Railway over 

 night, hunt the next day and travel back the fol- 

 lowing evening. So a day with the Badminton 

 became a welcome holiday to the busy man who 

 loved hunting, but was obliged to earn his living 

 in London. The fame of the hounds, the splen- 

 dour of the turn-out, the skill of the huntsmen 

 and the courtesy of the Duke, gained a fame be- 

 yond the limits of the country. I well remember 

 hearing how my grandfather, when one of his 

 sons, after hard work, secured a commission in the 

 Engineers, took him down for a fortnight's hunting 

 with "the Duke," as the greatest treat he could 

 give him. 



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