AND TIMES OF JOHN OSBORNE 433 



when he gets wanned up with hounds, he's a 



bad 'un to beat." 

 Surrounded, as he is, in the wolds and dale 

 country by many noble and good sportsmen, it goes 

 without saying that John need never fail in having a 

 day with hounds or gun. All sorts and conditions of 

 men are fond of him, and, like the rest of the world, 

 respect him. Let one enumerate a few of his neighbours 

 and friends round about Middleham. Conspicuous 

 amongst them is Lord Bolton, whose beautiful and 

 historic seat, Bolton Hall, is picturesquely situated 

 amongst the ancestral trees, and from whose porch the 

 eye commands a glorious panorama of wold and dale,' 

 of pasture, of wood and water, with the sombre Penhill 

 towering above all like a grim vedette. Lord Bolton 

 himself does not race, but he comes from a racing stock, 

 for he is the grandson of Mr. Powlett, who owned 

 Jack Spigot. Lord Masham — a really great man — 

 known formerly in the coursing world as Mr. " Sam " 

 Lister, when he kept a big kennel of greyhounds, is 

 lord of the manor of Middleham, and is a great land- 

 owner thereabout, one of his several big purchases in 

 the district of late years being Lord Ailesbury's 

 magnificent estate. The Duke of Leeds owns about 

 twelve miles of country between Ashgill and Hornby 

 Castle, and Mr. Fred Milbanke is only little more than 

 an hour's drive from Middleham. 



As Yorkshire is celebrated for its glorious hams, so 

 is Middleham, the capital of Wensleydale, renowned 

 for its toothsome cheeses. The region abounds in fine 

 pastures, irrigated by the Yore, the Cover, and smaller 

 streams. An undulating and hilly country, grouse 

 abounds in the higher parts, with pheasants and 

 partridges affording sport for the gun in the lowlands. 



2f 



