NIMROD'S NORTHERN TOUR. 279 



day on his road from Keith-hall to his hunting-seat at Gask, and where 

 he had eng-aged to meet me himself, with a horse for me to ride, and 

 likewise what he calls his " luggage cart," for the purpose of conveying 

 my traps — said luggage cart being also crossing the country as usual, 

 on that day, from one kennel to the other, in the hunting season. 



Accordina: with my general custom — rendered still more essential 

 from the fact of this Magazine now traversing the remotest parts of the 

 civilized world — I give a short introduction of each master of fox- 

 hounds on entering their respective countries, as well of the countries 

 themselves. That of Forfarshire, and the hounds that I hunted within 

 it, will be concluded after my second visit to Burnside, when I shall 

 have had a longer experience of them. 



The Earl of Kintore has been a master of fox-hounds in England and 

 Scotland nearly twenty years — having commenced as soon as he left 

 Oxford; and having a fine estate in the latter country, is entitled to 

 indulge himself in this his favorite pursuit: and truly fox-hunting may 

 be said to be his predominant passion. As a judge of hounds his name 

 stands high in the sporting world ; and as his means allow of his 

 draughting largely, his pack has always been found to please the 

 eye. It will be remembered that, a few years back, he purchased Mr. 

 Nicoll's hounds for one thousand guineas, at a time when they were in 

 very high repute, both as to their performance and their form ; and of 

 course the blood is now predominant in his kennel*. But Lord Kin- 

 tore is far from being satisfied with the look of hounds. He is a close 



* When speaking of the blood of Mr. Nicoll's kennel, we should rather call it the 

 Beaufort blood ; it being well known that Mr. NicoU had all the late duke's drafts, 

 old and young. 



