56 ROYAL ROCK BEAGLE HUNT. 



In a speech made by Lieut. -Col. King on an auspicious occasion, to be 

 refeired to hereafter, he says : — 



I well remember, in fact, I do not think I shall ever forget, a fine morning 

 in May, 1859. just at the time when men's minds were deeply stirred about the 

 risks of invasion and our defenceless position. On this morning I was quietly 

 smoking my cheroot after breakfast, when my dear neighbour, Ledward, came 

 in, and said, with a thrilling earnestness I shall never forget, " King ! I have 

 had a deal of talk with many upon the necessity^ of a volunteer movement, and 

 we all say that j'ou are the man to take it up in this neighbourhood." Now, 

 although I might well have felt that I had neither the talents nor the position 

 to take the lead in so grand a movement as this, yet I can assure you there was 

 an earnestness, aye, a solemnity, in Lcdward's manner which so impressed me, 

 that I did not hesitate one moment, but answered him in an instant, " Well ! I 

 will ; I will do my best." From that day I hope I have done my best. It was 

 very soon after this that my connexion with you commenced, and how well I 

 remember that bright July morning when we met on Oxton Common at six 

 o'clock, in dresses of all shapes and colours, and had our first drill. 



Soon after tlie first formation of the Oxton Com]~)any, Captain King 



made one of a party of volunteer officers from all parts of the country, who 



went up to Hythe for a week's training in rifle practice at the Hythe School 



of Musketry. This party consisted of forty-two officers, and seven of them 



were from the companies which afterwards formed the ist Cheshire Rifle 



Volunteer Battalion. At least four of these seven were beaglers. Captain 



King went thoroughly into the details of this subject, mastering it to .such an 



extent that he gave a course of lectures to his company and others. The 



Times devoted a whole column to a report of his first lecture, from which 



the following extract is redolent of the enthusiasm of our old ?^Iaster : — 



Our gallant lieutenant (Horner) made twenty-nine points, I only made four, 

 and, like all blockheads, was kept in the 3rd class ; but I have the satisfaction 

 to say, I got out of it, and am now a 2nd class man. This practice lasted from 

 Tuesday till Saturday, and I cannot describe to you the excitement of it. It 

 exceeded anything I ever saw. Hunting, or cricket, or boating is nothing to it. 

 I felt when I saw it, that there was no mistake about the volunteer movement ; 

 and there is no reason why there should not be the same excitement, when the 

 Cheshire companies march from their parade ground for ball practice, as there 

 was at the barrack-yard of Hythe. 



Ill the course of an important leading article in the same issue, the 

 Times says : — 



Captain King, of the Cheshire Rifles, has done the State some service in 

 telling millions of his fellow-countrymen what is really done at Hythe. His 

 picture is like an interior by some old Dutch cabinet painter, — precise, hard, 

 and clear, with an attention to details which is refreshing without being 

 pre-Raphaelite. 



In due time, when the companies of \\"irral had mastered their 

 company drill, it became necessary to form them into a battalion. Captain 

 King was unanimously chosen to take the command, his lieutenant-coloners 

 commission being dated 24th October, i860. This occasion was seized 



