150 FOX-HUNTING RECOLLECTIONS 



Bellingham became a Master of Fox Hounds by 

 succeeding Mr. Musters in the Badsworth country. 

 It is needless to say anything about that famous 

 sportsman Mr. Musters, who was then acknow- 

 ledged to be at the head of his profession, and 

 if he had been as zealous in the details of the 

 kennel as in those of the field, would have had 

 a reputation second to none in England at that 

 time ; as it was, Musters was a difficult Master 

 to follow. Sir Bellingham appears to have 

 hunted the Badsworth country for two years, 

 and apparently with success. He hunted his 

 hounds himself, with Jack Richards as first and 

 Kit Atkinson as second whipper-in. Both these 

 good servants remained until he took the Quorn 

 six years later, when Jack returned to Badsworth 

 as huntsman, and Kit was promoted to the same 

 post in Worcestershire. 



Kit's chief mission was to make young horses 

 into hunters, in which duty he was very capable, 

 being a good horseman, endowed with excellent 

 hands, and weighing only nine stone. There 

 was a good illustration of Kit's nerve later in 

 the Atherstone country where he was riding 

 a mare which had shown no signs of making a 

 hunter throughout her six years, and had given 

 him some very bad falls. Kit, however, would 

 not give up hope, and declared that '' she was 



