BIOGRAPHIES IN A NUTSHELL 139 



that it was a monomania of Mr. Mytton to keep his 

 wife away from the society of his friends, on account 

 of jealousy. The statement is explained by the fact 

 that Mrs. Mytton disliked Mr. Apperley. In regard 

 to the statement that Mrs. Mytton did not take any 

 interest in her husband's sporting pursuits, it is only 

 necessary to say that she used to accompany her 

 husband every morning — till her health prevented 

 her from doing so — on his visit to his kennels before 

 breakfast. On one occasion, while she was throwing 

 biscuits to the hounds, Mytton slipped the bolt of 

 the kennel gate, as a practical joke. Mrs. Mytton 

 laughed — perhaps the hounds smiled — and Mr. 

 Apperley gravely records the incident as one of 

 masculine brutality, committed by " my old friend." 

 It was also during Mrs. Mytton's lifetime that her 

 husband, as M.F.H. of the present Albrighton 

 Hounds, made his name known in history as a 

 sportsman and as a rider. 



He was now 5 ft. 9 in. in his socks, and weighed 

 eleven stone on the average, seldom varying more 

 than a pound during the season. But he was a man 

 of abnormal development. His biceps were thicker 

 than those of Jackson, the pugilistic champion of the 

 day, and he measured over 40 in. round the chest ; 

 yet his thighs were so small and so weak that it was 

 a marvel to his hunting companions that he managed 

 to retain his seat on a horse. My personal belief is 

 that he rode entirely by the iron grasp of his arms, 

 and left his leers to take care of themselves. Thoug-h 



