CHAPTER III 



THE BURTON HUNT 



Another country in which I often hunted 

 formerly was the Burton, at the time when it was 

 a six-days-a-week hunt, and long before the 

 Blankney as a separate country was ever thought 

 of. Lord Henry Bentinck had been Master from 

 1842 to 1864, and it was towards the close of 

 his reign that I first made acquaintance with 

 the celebrated pack which he had formed. It 

 was composed chiefly of Grove, Belvoir, and 

 Brocklesby blood, with several strains from 

 Osbaldeston's famous hounds. Their chief char- 

 acteristics were drive, speed, stoutness, and 

 extreme quality ; in appearance the doghounds 

 were perhaps a little light of bone, but they were 

 never known to tire. All this was the result of 

 a master mind devoted for over twenty years to 

 the study of hound-breeding. The art of handling 

 them in the field was also brought to perfection 

 in Lord Henry's time : noise, hallos, whip-crack- 

 ing, and over-riding were his especial abomina- 

 tions. In the days to which I allude Charley 

 Hawtin was the huntsman, a bright, talented 



