Zbc Earl of Milton i7i 



nobleman, who was wont to read family prayers to his 

 assembled household, of anything in common with the 

 character of a reckless rover, either on sea or land. 



But it is neither with Cowes nor Newmarket that 

 the name of the Earl of Wilton is chiefly associated. 

 For the latter half of his life, at any rate, the hunting- 

 field claimed his warmest affection, and his happiest 

 hours were passed in Melton Mowbray, of which he 

 was justly styled the King. There it was that Lord 

 Wilton was seen at his best, and in all the three 

 kingdoms there was no hunting-box to compare in 

 perfect finish with Egerton Lodge. It was indeed a 

 regal establishment, where hospitality was dispensed 

 with princely liberality. And in his capacity as host 

 the earl was nobly assisted by his charming countess, 

 who died in 1858, loved and respected by all classes 

 as the very type and model of the perfect ' Lady 

 Bountiful,' as charitable to the poor as she was hospit- 

 able to her equals — as much at home in her schools 

 as in her drawing-room, and equally popular in both. 

 Five years later the earl married, en secondes noces, Miss 

 Elton Smith, who worthily maintained the reputation 

 which her predecessor had won as chatelaine of 

 Egerton Lodge. 



As a rider to hounds Lord Wilton had no superior 

 in his day. He was always in the first flight and 

 was regarded as a perfect model of what a horseman 

 should be in the hunting-field. One of his greatest 

 gifts was a wonderful pair of hands. These stood him 

 in good stead both on the racecourse and over the 

 Leicestershire pastures. When he had the cream of 

 the Whitewall riding as a gentleman jockey, he rode 

 the great Touchstone in several races, and, though the 



