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CHAPTER XX. 



" And If he asks, what made thy heart 

 Against its chains rebel, 

 Disguise no atom of the part 



That I have taken : mark me well ! 

 I know my duty thus accords 

 A willing hand to back my words : 

 Then here I swear to set thee free ; 

 Away ! I care not who he be." 



The Last of the New Forest Deer. — G. F. B. 



Before concluding these Reminiscences, my readers 

 will not be surprised if I touch on the relative po- 

 sitions of masters of hounds, and the old and good 

 laws of honour which used, and ouo:ht still, to o-overn 

 their conduct towards each other. The ncAv regu- 

 lations, in part brought about by the exertions and 

 cant of those calling themselves the " Peace Society " 

 — the consistency of whom may be judged of by the 

 speech made by Mr. Cobden at the close of this last 

 session of Parliament, 1853, on the Russian and 

 Turkish question, so ably, so amply, so severely and 

 beautifully answered by Lord Palmerston — have 

 plunged tlie code of honour, that ought to be so 

 useful and so binding, into innumerable difficulties 

 in regard to many questions, trivial apparently in 

 themselves, but carrying a vast deal of weiglit in the 

 socialities of life. The abolition, or the attempted 

 abolition of the duel has, I say, left the code of 

 honour without any judgment- seat to appeal to ; for 

 it is the most abject and drivelling nonsense to sup- 



