Mr. Turner's Hounds. ii 



Then, not to be thought a contemptible fox, 



He dared them to follow o'er Cleveland's high rocks. 



But the ascent was so steep, and so painfully won, 



That few gained the top before he was far gone. 



To Kirkleatham Hall he next bent his career. 



Hard pressed by the owner to end his life there ; 



Assuring him he and his friends would not fail 



All possible honours to render his tail. 



Now, no one but Turner being left on the field, 



And finding ' Old Caesar ' unwilling to yield, 



At Kilton, thought proper to finish the strife. 



So called off the pack to give ' Caesar ' his life ; 



But ' Bluebell ' and ' Bonny Lass ' would have a meal 



(Whose hearts were of oak, and whose limbs were of steel) ; 



So they soon ran him up to his friend at the mill. 



Where, triumphant, they seized him and feasted their fill. 



Then, just like attraction 'twixt needle and pole, 



All centred that evening at Kirkleatham Hall, 



Where the bottles of red, and the fox-hunter's bowl, 



Not only enlivened, but cherished the soul. 



Oh, long may our host continue to grace 



His mansion, the country, and likewise the chase ; 



And as long as old time shall be governed by clocks, 



May a Turner for ever prevail o'er a fox.* 



Regarding this song, Sir A. E. Pease, in The Cleveland 

 Hounds, says : 



" Now this ballad concerns Mr. Turner's hounds, and he finds this 

 •no contemptible fox' at Hurworth. I believe that Mr. Turner hunted 

 the low-lying portions of Cleveland, the neighbourhood of Kirkleatham, 

 and as far West as Hurworth. Packs were not advertised in those days, 

 and were designated sometimes by their owners' names and sometimes by 



the name of the country they hunted In those days Masters of 



hounds were not limited in the North to any exact boundary in hunting, 

 but it became customary not to encroach on the hunting grounds of those 

 who were in the habit of drawing the country ; and in Yorkshire at this 

 early date, although the Earl of Darlington hunted the country pretty much 

 as he liked, Mr. Turner's, alias ' The Cleveland,' would find a large tract of 

 country, now divided between the Hurworth and Cleveland, in which he 

 could hunt without any interference from others." 



* Mr. Charles Turner and Lord John Cavendish represented York City from 1768-74-S0. 

 Mr. George Lane-Fox, a Tory, having formerly been one of the members. 



