1871] DEATH OF MR. H. F. MEYNELL INGRAM. 301 



friends and not a single enemy. So brief a notice of hiro, 

 seems inadequate, but, after all, what is the whole history 

 of the Hoar Cross Hounds up to this date, but a back- 

 ground for the scene of which the Meynell Ingrams are 

 the prominent figures. 



This is a good point from which to survey the past. 

 It will be seen by the perusal of the previous pages that 

 Mr. Meynell Ingram's hounds started as a quiet, unpre- 

 tentious, family pack, with a faithful old servant, con- 

 siderably older than his young master, to hunt them. 



The feudal system seems to have flourished longer in 

 Staflfordshire than elsewhere, and the bond between the 

 Squire of Hoar Cross and his retainers, especially the 

 Leedhams, was a strong one. Consequently the latter 

 were allowed a degree of latitude which would not have 

 been permissible under different circumstances. They 

 respected themselves, and they knew their place ; but, 

 though they were free with their tongues, no disrespect 

 was ever intended. There was a happy, united state of 

 things between master and men, and the country at large. 

 The sport varied, like it does at all times, and in all 

 places, but the hounds, to judge from contemporary 

 writers, had reached a high pitch of excellence. They 

 could and did remain, thanks to the generosity of the 

 late owner ; the country was as it was ; sport would 

 probably be about the same, but, still, there was a great 

 void. There was no one to fill the place vacated by the 

 late Master. One more old family pack was to be added 

 to the list of subscription ones, and a — shall we say — 

 squire-archy was to take the place of the squire. History 

 will show whether they filled it or no. In the days pre- 

 ceding 1871, the only requirements to go hunting were 

 the possession of a horse, and the exhibition of decent 

 behaviour in the field. A brother sportsman, whose heart 

 was in the chace, was enthusiastically welcomed. The 

 Meynell Ingrams could afford to pay for their own sport, 

 and for that of their neighbours, and they were delighted, 

 with true magnanimity, to do so. How this state of 



