WARWICKSHIRE 47 



before. Strange to say, he rode this little animal a very sharp burst 

 of nearly half an hour, with his legs almost touching the ground ; 

 and just before the fox was killed, he rode her over a good brook 

 and a new oaken stile. Mr. Lucy gave him eighty guineas for the 

 mare a few days afterwards, in consequence of her (or rather liis) 

 wonderful performance. It is in allusion to such feats as this that 

 Mr. Canning is thus mentioned in the Epweli Poem : — 



" On his five-year-old horse, though of course in tlie front, 

 Eobert Canning comes next — the crack man of this Hunt — 

 Let him ride what he will, v^'hether hunter or hack, 



Sure, by some means or other, to be with the pack : 

 At the end of a day almost always alone, 

 > And scarce ever behind, though he weighs sixteen stone." 



Notwithstanding the high repute this gentleman attained as a 

 rider, no man was more free from jealousy ; and so far from throw- 

 ing any impediment in the way of a brother sportsman in the chase, 

 he would give him every assistance in his power. He has always 

 been heard to say, that fox-hunting was a social amusement, and 

 that a liberal mind would not enjoy it the less from its being shared 

 with others ; but, on the contrary, the pleasure must be increased 

 by being mutual. 



A short time before Lord Middleton declined Warwickshire, Mr. 

 Canning quitted it, having built a mansion-house on his estate in 

 Gloucestershire, where he now resides ; and where the same direct- 

 ing eye that piloted him so well over a country has assisted him in 

 planning one of the best-constructed houses and offices for the 

 residence of a country gentleman that could be formed with hands. 

 With the exception of his race-horses, his stud is reduced to one 

 hunter, on which he sometimes makes his appearance with Colonel 

 Berkeley's hounds ; and when things go to please him, he is still 

 awkward to follow, and difficult to beat. 



This gentleman is the second son of the ancient and honorable 

 house of Foxcote," in Warwickshire, where his elder brother 



* It is singular that the elder Mr. Canning, who has also been devoted to 

 fox-hunting, and a wonderful performer for his weight, should reside at Fox- 

 cote, and that the name of Mr. Robert Canning's house in ^V'arwickshire should 

 have been Hounds-hiW. 



