BIOGRAPHIES IN A NUTSHELL 125 



of a hunting establishment has been reduced to an 

 exact science, and the pedigree of a hound can be 

 ascertained as easily as the pedigree of a Derby- 

 winner. But at the beginning of the century such 

 was not the case, and Masters of Hounds were 

 jealous, lest the details of their kennels were known. 

 Lord Middleton was a conspicuous example of this 

 form of jealousy, for, though he has the reputation 

 of having been one of the best judges of a horse 

 of his time, his warmest admirers must confess that 

 he was deficient in hound-lore. When his hounds 

 ought to have been benched he would have them 

 in his dining-room and feed them with dainties from 

 the table. The description of him given in an old 

 Banbury newspaper, republished by "Castor" in A 

 Century of Hunting with the Warwickshire Hounds 

 (1891) is: "As a breeder of hounds he paid too 

 much attention to legs and feet, and neglected 

 elegance of neck and shoulder, strength of thigh, 

 and protuberant bodily muscle. But they were 

 always in splendid condition." The only hound 

 that I am aware of which made a name in kennel 

 history was Vanguard, by Vaulter, out of Corbet's 

 Traffic. 



But it is as a horseman and a field-master that 

 Lord Middleton is entitled to be numbered amongst 

 the giants of the hunting field. As M.F.H. his reign 

 is notable amongst Warwickshire sportsmen, because 

 he gave up the Meridan side of the country, and the 

 Coombe and Dunchurch side, since it was impossible 



