58 Ikings of tbe 1Rofc, 1Rifle t anfc (Bun 



his brother-sportsmen. Not only was he supreme with 

 rod, rifle, and gun, but he was also a first-rate horseman 

 both with hounds and on the race-course, a keen fox- 

 hunter, a past-master in falconry, a fine athlete, a 

 generous and intelligent patron of the fine arts, and 

 a bon vivant of the first water. 



For three generations the Thorntons had been dis- 

 tinguished both as soldiers and politicians. The 

 grandfather of the subject of my sketch, William 

 Thornton, was a staunch supporter of the Revolution 

 of 1688, and was selected by the Yorkshire Whigs to 

 present their congratulatory address to Queen Anne 

 on the Union of England and Scotland, on which 

 occasion Her Majesty conferred on him the honour 

 of knighthood. The son of this worthy knight followed 

 in his father's steps. For nearly twenty years he 

 represented the city of York in Parliament, and was 

 Colonel of the West Riding Militia. When the Jacobite 

 rising of 'Forty-five broke out, he equipped a troop of 

 yeomanry and a company of infantry from his own 

 tenantry, entirely at his own expense, and they 

 were almost the only portion of General Hawley's 

 army at Falkirk which did not disgrace itself. Three- 

 fourths of them were slain, and their commander, with 

 a price of 1,000 on his head, only escaped capture 

 by the skin of his teeth. For three days he lay hid 

 in a disused cellar, up to his ankles in slime, and 

 contracted malarial fever, from which he suffered to 

 the end of his days. He owed his life and freedom 

 to a kindly and loyal Scotswoman, the owner of the 

 cellar, who kept him supplied with food, and put 



