AND THE DUKES OF RICEMOND. 39 



him with his usual ejaculation, when not well pleased : 

 " Sir, whip off the hounds immediately, or I must 

 send for a candle and lantern for you." Such was 

 his Grace's desire to give fair-play to a good fox, that 

 once, after a capital run, the fox having sought 

 refuge upon the porch of Waltham Church, which 

 was covered with ivy, but not sufficiently to conceal 

 his brush from the view of his pursuers, who with 

 their whips were trying to dislodge him, the noble 

 Master rode up in great haste and anger, asking 

 them to desist, and exclaiming, " Why do you want 

 to murder such a fox ? leave him alone. He has 

 shown you a good day's sport, and if left will show 

 you another." 



The excellence of these hounds and the popularity 



of their Master, the third Duke of Eichmond, may 



be illustrated by the following incident. Some 



Leicestershire gentlemen had been invited to hunt at 



Goodwood, and had brought some stout hunters with 



them, to keep up the reputation of their county. 



" The meet," as usual, being at eight o'clock a.m., the 



pack were soon upon the track of a fox, which 



they could only find, however, by " fits and starts," 



whereupon one of the strangers remarked to Tom 



Grant, " If this is what you call hunting, we know 



nothing about it. There is no pace in the pack that 



you boast so much about." Eventually old Reynard 



was unkennelled, and went straight across the country 



