COL. J. W. BAILLIE IN THE CHAIR. l8l 



Sir Bache to accept the testimonial hanging over his head — the 

 silver fox — as a token of their goodwill and esteem and regard 

 for him, and to assure him that it would always give them 

 very sincere pleasure to see him amongst them at any time : 

 and that whether Sir Bache was present or absent, they would 

 neither forget him, nor forget what they all owed to him 

 (applause.) For his own part, he believed he was one of the 

 oldest friends Sir Bache had in that country. He had to thank 

 Sir Bache not only for many pleasant days he had spent with 

 the hounds, but for many acts of kindness which might have 

 passed that gentleman's memory, but which would long remain 

 indelibly fixed in his own. He would now ask the company to 

 drink to the health and prosperity of Sir Bache wherever he 

 may chance to go (loud applause). 



The toast was drunk with musical honours. Sir Bache 

 Cunard, who was received with the warmest enthusiasm, said 

 he rose to thank them w^ith very opposite feelings. It was 

 w^ith feelings of very great sorrow that this meeting should be 

 as it were a sort of farewell taking between them, at any rate 

 so far as hunting that country went. But it was with feelings 

 of gratification to himself to think that any efforts of his, 

 during the past ten years, should have met with such apprecia- 

 tion at their hands. It would be very unfair to him to take all 

 the credit to himself, for the smooth way in which things had 

 gone on. He had been most ably supported by his huntsman 

 (loud applause). A good huntsman had a great deal more to 

 do than to kill foxes. A hasty word, an uncivil speech spoken 

 in the excitement of a run, might occasion a great deal of 

 ill-feeling ; that there had been nothing of that sort during his 

 Mastership he knew to be the case by the splendid testimonial 

 they had just presented to him (hear, hear). In these days 

 change seemed to be the great thing to be expected, but in the 

 hunting field, change was almost the last thing to be desired 

 (hear, hear). It was a matter of great regret to him, therefore, 

 that it had fallen to his lot to lower the average of the tenure 

 of office of the Mastership of hounds, which at present stood at 

 sixteen years for two Masters, but their thanks for that were 

 principally due to Mr. Tallby (applause). He hoped Mr. 

 Fernie would not only keep up the average, but increase it 

 (hear, hear). He thanked them for the kind way in which they 

 had received the toast, and for the testimonial they had 

 presented to him ; he should look upon it as a souvenir of good 



