HISTORY OF THE LINLITHGOW 



had he and not Nimrod been the author, the order 

 of precedence given to them in the title might 

 have been somewhat different. For " his heart 

 was in the Defiance and the Tally-ho," ^ and pro- 

 bably he was better known to the racing world 

 of his time than he was in the hunting field. 

 Many of the old Barnton papers were destroyed 

 some years ago, with the view of clearing away 

 what was deemed to be useless matter, and al- 

 though it is of no avail bemoaning what can- 

 not be undone, it is nevertheless a matter for 

 resfret that such an incident should have taken 



CD 



place. Had these papers been preserved, how 

 much information might not they have thrown 

 upon Mr Ramsay's tastes and predilections, how 

 much lighter might not the task have been in 

 respect to this particular period of the Hunt's 

 history ? 



Captain Barclay of Ury, by whom the Defiance 

 coach was instituted in the summer of 1829, and 

 Mr Ramsay, are said to have been partners as 

 regards its management during at least a portion 

 of its existence ; and so anxious was the latter 

 to encourage travelling by it, that he would some- 

 times take passengers free of charge. 



" It is possible that some of my readers may 

 not have heard or read of the renowned Defiance 



1 'Field and Fern' (South), by The Druid, 1865, p. 54. The Tally- 

 ho coach, which seems to have riin between Edinburgh and Stirling, 

 was instituted by Mr Ramsay in April 1828. — Vide 'Sporting Maga- 

 zine,' September 1829. 



114 



