320 NIMROD S HUNTING TOUR 



gentlemen, crawling out when the day is far spent with umbrellas 

 and goloshes ; not a speculative, but a downright practical sportsman 

 of the Old as well as the New School ; not afraid of a shower of rain, 

 but ready to face all winds and all weathers with his hounds in the 

 morning, and as boon a companion over a bottle of wine in the 

 evening as ever Bacchus smiled upon. 



When we think of Lord Cleveland's possessions, and the stake he 

 holds in life : when we look, I say, at his rank and station, and then 

 recollect that he has gone through all the labour in the field, and a 

 great part of that in the kennel which is attached to the situation of 

 huntsman to so large a pack of fox-hounds as his own, for "thirty- 

 eight seasons uninterruptedly, and with high reputation to himself 

 and satisfaction to the sportsmen who hunted with him ;"'■= when 

 we consider also the great personal hazard to which he must have of 

 necessity been exposed in this long servitude to his hounds ; we can 

 scarcely reconcile ourselves to the fact. But so it is ; and although 

 it is difficult to make parallels of men who shine in the same sphere, 

 I have good reason to believe his Lordship is as scientific in his 

 calling as any other huntsman of his day. To appreciate a man's 

 merits we must look to his works ; and I assert, without fear of 

 contradiction, that at the present moment there is as fine and 

 indeed as grand a kennel of fox-hounds at Eaby Castle as any 

 reasonable man would either wish for or expect. 



True it is, a pleasing' recreation is no task. The ministering 

 passion stirs us up, and excites us to deeds we should otherwise 

 shrink from. Such is the case here. The Marquis of Cleveland is 

 passionately fond of hunting, and everything appertaining to " the noble 

 science; " so that he rarely feels fatigue in the pursuit. Even in his 

 dress, we see how he honours fox-hunting. His straight-cut coat 

 and leathern belt bespeak the huntsman as clearly as Ovid says the 

 air and habit of Germanicus bespoke the orator :■ — 



" Ere yet he speaks, the orator is seen 

 In all the elegance of garb and mien ! " 



I was going to observe — Were the Marquis of Cleveland an 

 illiterate man, with only a second-rate understanding, something 



* See Colonel Cooke's Observations 07i Fox-liunt'mg, published 1826. 



