154 LIFE OF MYTTON. 



Mytton, " bring him over dog and all, at his own 

 price ! " The dog, however, was bought for eight 

 pounds, and drew the badger in great style. He 

 was a small animal, half bull half terrier ; and having 

 been brought back to England .by Mytton, remained 

 at Halston, where he was well taken care of till he 

 died. 



Many of his frolics were of a ludicrous, at the same 

 time, of a perfectly harmless nature. On going into 

 the bar of the Lion Inn, Shrewsbury, one evening, 

 when somewhat " sprung " by wine, he was told there 

 was a box in the coach-office for him which contained 

 two brace of foxes. He ordered this to be brought 

 to him ; when taking up the poker, he knocked off 

 the lid, and out came the foxes, to the great fright of 

 the landlady and some of her female friends. Mytton 

 gave them a holloa as they " broke," but they smashed 

 such a lot of glass and crockery- ware, that the joke 

 must have been an expensive one. 



After a blank day with Sir Edward Smythe's 

 hounds, which then hunted the Shrewsbury country, 

 the Squire determined upon a lark when he got home. 

 He accordingly ordered some draft hounds, which he 

 had in his kennel at Halston, together with all the ter- 

 riers and bull-dogs about the house, to be taken to 



