Ubc Dulles of Beautort 1*9 



premier sportsman of England that he claims notice in 

 these pages, and I am sure that if anyone ever deserved 

 the title of a ' King of the Hunting-Field,' it is the 

 noble Master of Badminton. My old colleague, the late 

 Mr Nevill Fitt, for whose judgment in hunting matters 

 I have the highest respect, thus strongly expressed /i/s 

 opinion of the duke's sportsmanship a few years back : 



' No keener sportsman than the Duke of Beaufort, or 

 better judge of hunting, ever went into a field. Will 

 Long said of him that he was the best whip he ever 

 saw, and knew better when to let hounds alone, and 

 when to interfere with them ; and I have myself seen 

 him lose a good run rather than leave a young hound 

 back in covert, while he is so keen that he would think 

 nothing of finding a fox at half-past six in the evening 

 of a spring day. As a coachman he is quite first-class ; 

 and he or the Marquis of Worcester works a team to 

 covert on most hunting days ; while a few years ago he 

 was equally well known on the Turf, and had Siberia, 

 Vauban, Koenig, Birdhill, and other good horses ; while 

 he sets a good example to all landowners by keeping a 

 stud-horse for the use of his tenants. Kingstown, who 

 was second to Wild Dayrell, stood here for some years. 

 He also had Grey Prince, the sire of some very good 

 hunters, one grey especially being such a favourite of 

 the duke's, that, when his legs got shaky, he used to 

 have him conveyed to the meet in a van. This is the 

 horse on which he is painted by Grant, facing the 

 Duchess on Tetuan, which picture was presented to her 

 in 1864.' 



The Rev. ' Jack ' Russell, whose qualification to give 

 an opinion no hunting man will deny, declared that as 

 a practical huntsman there were few, even among the 



