52 ROYAL ROCK BEAGLE HUNT. 



will and friendl)^ feelings of all \-ou meet. I have heard }-ou " spoken of from 

 the East " as well as from the banks of the Mersey, and always in the same 

 terms of respect and regard. 



I am not singular, therefore, in feeling towards you a deep feeling of interest 

 and regard, and though not present at this pleasing testimony to your being a 

 " real good fellow," on Monday, believe me no one feels and knows that you are 

 so better than I do. 



Accept my sincere and hearty good wishes for yourself and yours ; may 

 your trip prove prosperous in every way, and on your return may we have the 

 pleasure of dubbing you our Master, and run many a brilliant and successful 

 campaign under your management. 



God bless you, old fellow ! and believe me ever your attached friend, 



C. Rawsox. 



In 1866, the beaglers commissioned an artist to paint a capital picture, 

 in oil colours, of the hounds, in the charge of Williams the huntsman, and 

 during V. A. King's absence they hung it in his dining room without his 

 knowledge. On the return of the family, they used the room for two days 

 without noticing the presence of the picture. The Master was so delighted 

 with this mark of the affection of liis beaglers that he liad the picture let into 

 the oak panelling above his sideboard, where it still remains as a permanent 

 fixture. 



On the occasion of his seventieth birthday, Colonel King was presented 

 with a portrait of his wife, by the volunteer battalion which he commanded ; 

 and the beaglers took the same opportunity to present Mrs. King with a 

 portrait of the Master, in his beagling costume. The volunteers would fain 

 have reversed this order, and would have dearly liked to have the Colonel 

 painted in his uniform. The beaglers, however, were first in the field, and 

 it was only after hearing of tlieir intention, and after all the arrangements 

 had been made, that the volunteers followed suit with the portrait of 

 Mrs. King. Many of us are proud to possess an etching of the portrait 

 of the Master, which is a speaking likeness. A reproduction faces tliis 

 chapter. 



On Saturday evening, the 24th January, 1880, the R.R.B. Hunt gave 

 their annual dinner to the farmers of Wirral, and the presentation of the 

 portrait of the Master formed a pleasing episode in the proceedings. The 

 secretary, J. B. Morgan, had the honour of making the presentation, with 

 a few complimentary remarks, to which the Master made the following 

 speech in reply : — 



My dear friends, I rise with mingled feelings of pleasure and regret. My 

 feelings of pleasure are to acknowledge the charming gift which you have 

 just made to my dear wife ; my feelings of regret are because I am cjuite 

 certain I cannot find words to give expression to my feelings for your kindness. 

 I wish to make a good speech, and I much fear I shall make a bad one. 



You have given a great amount of pleasure by your gift. You have given 

 pleasure to myself, by this proof of your love and affection for me ; you have 

 given pleasure to my dear wife, by presenting to her this excellent portrait of 



