NIMRO&S NORTHERN TOUR. 24* 



commonest proverbs namely, that " too many cooks spoil the 

 broth." When I arrived at the stables I found Sir John Hope 

 there on a similar errand, and Mr. Callander himself was ex- 

 pected. " Now, Mr. Inglis," said I, " shall we be able amongst 

 us all to make a deal between the chestnut and the grey ?" (It 

 was a negotiation for an exchange for a horse of Mr. C.'s not 

 <equal to his weight.) " Long odds against it, sir," replied Mr. 

 Inglis; "I never sold half a dozen hunters in my life, when more 

 than one reputed judge was called on to give an opinion of 

 him." I do not know that I have hitherto made mention of Sir 

 John Hope, one of the noted sportsmen of Scotland, and esteemed 

 a superior judge of a hunter. Of this description of persons, 

 Sir John is one of the/^ze/ opponents of the system I have re- 

 commended for summering the hunter, still adhering to the 

 grazing plan. I liked his stamp of horses much, they being all 

 well bred ; but as for the condition of them, it was, to my eye, 

 about as much like what it ought to be, and 'what it is at Melton 

 Mowbray, as chalk is like Cheshire cheese. But Sir John does 

 not go the Melton pace, so " n-importe" as they say on this 

 side of the Channel. Like myself, the worthy baronet is getting 

 slow, and from the same cause, for he's " nae youth," as a farmer 

 said of him in my hearing. I had no opportunity of seeing his 

 stud or his seat, which is about ten miles from Edinburgh, but 

 that was not his fault ; the death of a relation prevented his 

 doing me the honour of receiving me as his guest, during my 

 stay in Edinburgh, as he was kind enough to assure me, in 

 person. 



I was nearly omitting a description of Williamson's crib, in 

 the town of Dalkeith. In his sitting-room, upstairs, are many 

 interesting objects, several of which are highly complimentary to 

 him. Of the following I made a note : A small painting of 

 himself and a couple of favourite hounds ; a portrait of his 

 brother, Major Williamson, of the East India Company's Service, 

 in his regimentals ; the print of Mr. Ralph Lambton on Under- 

 taker ; and a painting of the head of Darling, I conclude a 

 leading hound, from the couplet written beneath : 



* ' Tis Darling ! have at him ! we're in for a run ! 

 For the hounds fly together, like shot from a gun !" 



On his sideboard : a handsomely embossed tankard, from the 

 members of the East Lothian Hunt, previously to the Duke of 

 Buccleuch taking to the hounds. Another very handsome tank- 

 ard, presented to him by Lord Elcho, ornamented with devices 

 emblematical of every kind of sport, with the following couplet 

 engraved on it, 



16 



