The Bedale Hounds, 1832-1908 



It is recorded that he was all for riding ; 

 and ' ' four couples of hounds in front, and 

 the rest coming on how they could,'' was 

 the general order of things. The following 

 verse taken from a poem written by Mr. M. 

 Hawke, to commemorate a famous run with 

 the Badsworth, from Howell Wood : perhaps 

 happily describes him : — 



" Then first in the burst, see dashing away, 

 Taking all in his stride, on Ralpho the gray. 

 With persuaders in flank, comes Darlington's Peer 

 With his chin sticking out, and his cap on his ear."* 



In addition to his fondness for fox hunting, 

 Lord Darlington was a firm supporter of 

 the Turf; and the two Chifneys — Sam and 

 Will — were closely connected with his racing 

 stable. He gave very long prices for some 

 of his horses, but few turned out really worth 

 much. He won the Ascot Cup in 1827, with 

 Memmon ; the St. Leger in 1831, with 

 Chorister ; and ran second for the Derby 

 of 1818, with a grey colt called Raby, being 

 beaten three parts of a length by Sam. 



He kept a large pack of hounds — about 

 seventy couples — sometimes hunting with 

 all young ones, when ' * the fun must have 

 been fast and furious.*' But the usual 

 number was twenty to twenty-five couples 

 of mixed hounds. 



His hunting diaries are a model of exacti- 

 tude in necessary information. Brief, but 



* Nimrod, in his " Hunting Tours and Letters on Riding to 

 Hounds," states that in the year 1826, Lord Darlington 

 wore a hat and a leather girdle across his shoulder. His 

 two whippers-in were also in hats. 



