SIR PETER WALKER, BART. 103 



£100,000, were only estimated to bring £11,000. Mr. 

 John Osmaston was at one time a regular follower of the 

 Meynell hounds, and went well, especially on a grey, the 

 General, which he sold to Mr. Walter Boden. He had a 

 penchant for that colour, always driving greys in his coach, 

 and he also started a herd of pure white shorthorns. 



The present owner of Osmaston is a staunch fox- 

 preserver, but is probably fonder of a gun, and more 

 especially of a rifle, than he is of horse and hound. Yet 

 he kept at his own expense for some time the Dove Valley 

 Harriers, about the year 1894, when Colonel Fleming, a 

 capital all-round sportsman, gave them up. This country 

 has also to thank him for instituting the point-to-point 

 races, which are usually called after him. A peculiarity 

 of these is, that in each — the light weight (open), the 

 heavy weight, and the Meynell Hunt race— the com- 

 petitors must be nominated by a lady, who must have 

 received a nomination from Sir Peter Walker. The 

 nominator of the winner receives a bangle, and the owner 

 gets the stakes. 



No one enjoys big game shooting more than the 

 popular Baronet of Osmaston, and he has been all over the 

 world in pursuit of it. The trophies at Osmaston bear 

 witness to his success, while another most interesting 

 result of his travels is the establishment of a herd of elk, 

 or, more strictly speaking, Wapiti, in the Park. These, at 

 first, twenty in number, were delivered at a cost of, on dit, 

 j£l00 a-head, which seems a very reasonable remuneration 

 for the risk, trouble, and expense of collecting and shipping 

 them. They have thriven and multiplied greatly in their 

 new home, but it is not safe to allow them to be at large, 

 like ordinary deer, on account of their rather queer tempers, 

 as they are dangerous at times. Consequently they are 

 fenced in on a large tract in the Park, with iron fencing of 

 an immense height. 



Osmaston is famous for its hospitality, and its owner 

 is always doing something for other people's pleasure, in 

 which he is ably assisted by Lady Walker, daughter of 

 Mr. Okeover, of Okeover. 



