NIMROD'S NORTHERN TOUR. . 235 



which this gallant little regiment took part in, a beautiful black mare 

 called Priestess, the gift of the — by all sportsmen — ever-to-be- 

 remembered Mr. Corbet, of Sundorne-castle, Shropshire, to Lady Pule- 

 ston, his daughter, was shot dead under Sir Richard, and his life was 

 greatly endangered by the circumstance. It being observed, however, 

 by Tom Crane, who was in the rear, with a led horse, he dashed through 

 the fire with him towards his master, and thus saved him from destruc- 

 tion. An act of this description was not likely, sooner or later, to go 

 without its reward. The cause of Crane's quitting the service of Sir 

 Richard I do not at this moment recollect; but he did quit it soon 

 afterwards, and served as a private soldier in the late Peninsular war, 

 under the Great Captain of the Age, although he was not long in the 

 ranks, having become batman to Colonel Freemantle, of the Guards. 

 When, however, a pack of fox-hounds was sent out to this great captain, 

 Sir Richard exerted his influence in favour of his late servant, and he 

 was appointed by the Duke of Wellington to hunt them. He hunted 

 them, I understood, quite to the satisfaction of his noble master ; and by 

 way of showing that neither the change in his habits of life, nor the 

 dissipation of a camp, had eradicated the good principles that his father 

 had instilled into him, I am proud to record the following circumstance. 

 Sir Richard showed me a letter from him to his father, which not only 

 contained a most correct expression of his sentiments upon various other 

 subjects, but highly creditable appeal to himself as to a step he was 

 about to take. It appeared the hounds were about to be given up by the 

 duke, and to be transferred to the possession of Lord Stewart. The 

 purport of this appeal then was, to obtain the sanction of Sir Richard as 

 to his (Crane's) continuing to hunt them, after his Grace gave them up. 



And here, as may be imagined, conflicting circumstances were at work,. 



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