400 Tfcings of tfoe 1Rofc, 1Rifle t anfc Gun 



On another occasion Sir Richard met with a mishap 

 out hunting which nearly proved fatal. His horse fell 

 upon him in one of those deep brooks small rivers, 

 in fact which are common in the Midlands. Sir Richard 

 had the presence of mind to hold his whip firmly in one 

 hand above water, and he was thus pulled from under 

 his horse. 



A propos of his mastership of the Burton, a writer in 

 The Field gives the following anecdote : 



" Endowed by nature with keen powers of perception 

 and great judgment, having a fondness too for breeding 

 hounds, he soon got up an excellent pack ; in doing 

 which he was aided by the experience of Jack Shirley 

 and Jem Wilson, both of whom had lived with Mr. 

 Smith, and had, therefore, the best means of learning 

 their business ; they officiated as huntsman and whipper- 

 in to Sir Richard's hounds for many years. So much 

 was Shirley attached to his master that when he was 

 told he would have to leave, as the hounds were to be 

 given up, through Sir Richard breaking his leg by a fall, 

 he answered that he would not go ; and when told he 

 would have no wages, and must go, he said, * Nay, but 

 I'll stop without wages.' He went with Sir Richard into 

 Norfolk, where he lived in the house, walked, as fast as 

 his increasing waistcoat would let him, with the gentle- 

 men out shooting, and fancied himself a gamekeeper. 

 He was reinstated in his berth as soon as his master got 

 well again ; and Jem Wilson remained as whip till his 

 name became almost as famous as that of the renowned 

 ' Tom Moody.' " 



On the death of Lord Lonsdale in 1 842 Sir Richard 



