48 



THE WARWICKSHIRE HOUNDS. 



Lord Middleton 

 1811-1821. 



As a breeder. 



Some unpopular 

 acts. 



warm welcome and promised him support in the preser- 

 vation of foxes. Lord Middleton, too, continued to 

 treat the parties connected with the fox-catching at 

 Wolford, in the same liberal way as his prede- 

 cessor. He also continued for a few seasons to give 

 the plate of £50 at the Warwick races, but as it 

 gave rise to many disputes, he afterwards discon- 

 tinued it. He divided his hounds into two packs, 

 dogs and bitches, Mr. Corbet having classed them 

 according to age. During his second year he an- 

 nounced that the hounds would remain permanently 

 throughout the season in the Warwickshire country, 

 and not as they had hitherto been, removed to other 

 districts for part. 



Lord Middleton was a reputed breeder of dogs, of 

 spaniels most notably. As regards hounds, however, 

 his efforts might, perhaps, have been characterised 

 with a little more success. There were many points 

 which are considered essential to the hound which 

 were not conspicuous in those of his breeding, 

 — elegance of neck and shoulder, strength of thigh, 

 protuberant bodily muscle. He paid, perhaps, rather 

 too much notice to legs and feet. But his pack was 

 always in splendid condition. A favourite hound of his 

 was Vanguard (by a famous hound Vaulter, presented 

 to Lord Middleton by Lord Vernon, out of Mr. 

 Corbet's Traffic), but such was the extraordinary 

 treatment and indulgence he gave it that he allowed 

 it to enter his dining room and be fed during dinner. 

 The natural result was that he made it stout and 

 slow in the field. 



Despite, however, all the qualifications which Lord 

 Middleton possessed for making a successful master 

 his regime in Warwickshire can hardly be said to 

 have been a popular one. One or two little acts, 

 — not apparently very important ones — tended to 

 cause dissatisfaction among those whose goodwill and 



