AIND SimLINGSHIRE HUNT 



Rickaby, Captain Kichardson, Captain Kussell, 

 Mr Shairp of Houstoun, Mr R. Spiers, Mr 

 Stewart, Dr Wardrop, Mr Archibald Wilkie, 

 and Mr G. Williamson ; while no less a personage 

 than Nimrod graced the field with his presence 

 in the season last referred to (1834). 



Nimrod,^ who had hunted from his boyhood, was 

 at this time an accepted authority on all matters 

 connected with the chase. His writings, which 

 possess a considerable charm of style, and are 

 among the best of sporting classics, afford much 

 interesting information concerning many of the 

 more famous hunting establishments of the day. 

 His ' Northern Tour,' written as the tour was 

 made during the hunting season of 1834, contains 

 a description of the different packs of hounds in 

 Scotland at that time, including the Linlithgow 

 and Stirlingshire. But Nimrod's appearance with 

 the pack took place under unfortunate circum- 

 stances, for the weather was stormy, and conse- 

 quently the hounds were not seen to advantage. 

 On December the 6th, the first of the only two 

 days on which he was in the field, the fixture 

 was Ormiston hill. He was then mounted by Mr 

 Kamsay, and from him we have an account of the 

 day's proceedings. 



" Our first scent was on a disturbed fox which 

 we could not hunt up to, to do any good with, 

 so went to try for another. We found in Calder- 

 wood, the most extraordinary, and the most 



1 Nimrod — Mr Charles James Apperley— was bom in 1778. 



129 I 



