HUNTING IN A HURRICANE. 133 



Prior to riding with. " The Queen's," I had an 

 opportunity of going over the kennels and seeing the 

 hounds on the flags, recognising some of my old 

 friends E-ummager and Wizard, to wit and I can 

 say, without fear of contradiction, that the whole forty- 

 seven and a half couples of Royal Buckhounds are as 

 noble a lot of animals as ever have been seen at 

 Ascot, at any rate within my memory, which extends 

 beyond forty years. Frank Goodall may well be proud 

 of this year's entries, consisting of nine and a half 

 couples of dogs and six and a half couples of " ladies/' 

 and he may safely challenge comparison with those of 

 any hunt in the kingdom that is to say, if I know 

 anything of such matters. The Belvoir blood largely 

 predominates, no less than six couples being of that 

 well-known strain of high-class foxhounds, from which 

 I should select Brusher, Bellman, Bertha, Chorus, 

 Topthorn, and Trojan as some of the finest of the lot. 

 The Duke of Graf ton's blood has also been introduced 

 Norman, Noble, Norah, and Novelty (by Stormer; 

 dam, the Belvoir Needful) are first-rate specimens. 

 Theodore and Thrifty well represent the Cottesmore 

 kennels, being by Prodigal ; dam, the Belvoir Tutoress. 

 Of the home-bred hounds Veteran, Vesper, Venus, and 

 Vengeance (by General; dam,Mr. Foljambe's Violet) it 

 may be said that a finer lot of young hounds cannot 

 be imagined. The wonderful attention that the royal 

 huntsman pays to the pack under his charge must be 

 seen to be fully appreciated. Comins, from the Hey- 

 throp, is the new whip, and seems likely to be an 

 acquisition, being pleasant, shrewd, and obliging, as 

 well as master of his business. Having formed, after 

 close inspection, such a favourable opinion of the con- 



