STABLE MANAGEMENT 257 



should have hobnobbed over their cups with hunts- 

 men and grooms. 



I must, however, admit that their stable manage- 

 ment left much to be desired, both in regard to 

 cleanliness and tidiness. They were as a rule Tories 

 and believed in the maxim, that what was good 

 enough for my father is good enough for me. There 

 was a further reason, namely, the impoverishment of 

 many of the landed proprietors, who had inherited 

 estates heavily mortgaged, and were deeply indebted 

 to the merchants in the towns. Thus it was not 

 till the railways carried commercial men into the 

 country that any improvements are to be noticed 

 in stable economy. And so it came to pass that 

 the latest inventions from the manufacturing districts 

 found their way into the country. It was useless 

 for some of the old-fashioned squires to resent the 

 innovations and to talk about hunting in the good 

 old days. Even the hereditary autocrats of the 

 hunting field, such as the Dukes of Beaufort, re- 

 cognised the new order of things. It was the custom 

 for men to hunt in Leicestershire for a season, 

 and then to return to their own countries, and 

 imitate the hunting establishments of the fashion- 

 able countries; and though it was not till 1877 that 

 the foxhound show at Peterborough was founded, 

 hound-lore had been studied for many years and 

 kennels books were regularly kept. Meets were 

 advertised, and subscription lists placed on a busi- 

 ness basis. In short, by 1850 hunting had become 

 s 



