tlbe Cofces of Ibolfebam 217 



time of his decease, and which had never been worn, 

 were estimated to be worth one hundred poun 

 Amongst the neighbours he was known by the title of 

 the ' Walking Obelisk.' " 



But among the shooting records of Holkham, the feat 

 which will be longest remembered is that of Sir Francis 

 Chantrey, the great sculptor, who killed two woodcocks 

 in a single shot. Chantrey, like Sir Humphry Davy, 

 was an enthusiastic sportsman both with rod and gun ; 

 in fact, he was an enthusiast at whatever he took up. 

 It was his boast that he had mowed an acre of grass 

 in a day, thrashed a quarter of corn (with a flail, be it 

 understood), and ploughed an acre of land in the same 

 space of time. For he held that a man should be able 

 to do with his own hand everything that " tended to the 

 duties, the necessities, and the conveniences of life." 



Chantrey was the president of that jovial coterie of 

 Waltonians, the Houghton Fishing Club, and was the 

 life and soul of its convivial meetings. But with all his 

 intense love of sport he combined a peculiarly sensitive 

 nature. He could not bear to see any creature in 

 suffering, and he always carried in his pocket an ivory 

 rule, with which he killed every fish he caught the 

 instant he had landed it. So squeamish was he on 

 this point that once, when thirty pheasants and twenty 

 hares were placed at his feet by the keepers as his share 

 of a day's shooting at Holkham, he felt so sick that he 

 had to turn hastily away. 



He was a frequent guest at Holkham during the 

 shooting season, and the following is the official account 

 of his memorable feat in woodcock-shooting, as given 



