192 Ikings of tbe 1bunttng='dftel& 



by the liberality of Lord Cardigan to assume the Master- 

 ship. It was no light matter to follow such a prince as 

 the Lord of Bretby in such a country as the Pytchley ; 

 but, confident in his ability to show sport, Mr Smith 

 ventured upon the responsibility of getting an establish- 

 ment together. The new chief was preceded by a great 

 reputation acquired in Berkshire and elsewhere, and 

 in no way did he belie it. A more thorough master of the 

 " noble science," or one whose thoughts were more com- 

 pletely engrossed in the ways of " fox and hounds," 

 probably never carried a horn. 



Living en garqon in Brixworth, with Jack Goddard as 

 first and Jones as second whip, he contrived to get a great 

 deal of successful work out of the worst lot of hounds 

 and horses that had ever been seen in the Pytchley 

 country. The former were a part of Lord Chesterfield's 

 pack, purchased by the Hunt for ^^"400, after twenty 

 couple had been selected by Deny and sent to Lord 

 Ducie, which, it was said, v/ere all hanged from being so 

 incorrigibly wild ! With hounds such as these, and 

 horses varying in value from ^60 to £20, there was an 

 amount of sport during these two seasons which had not 

 been approached during the splendid reign of Mr Smith's 

 predecessor. A fine and powerful horseman, the animal 

 he rode, however valueless in appearance, was bound to 

 be pretty near hounds — " pace, not fences " brought 

 the hounds to the only real difficulty. So delighted 

 was Lord Cardigan said to be at the close of an excellent 

 run, that he is reported to have fairly embraced the 

 skilful huntsman who had been the means of causing 

 him so much pleasure. The subscriptions not being 

 sufficient to enable Mr Smith to hunt four days a week 

 and meet the difficulties of a weak establishment, at the 



