58 



THE WARWICKSHIRE HOUNDS. 



1811-1821, j 



Mr. Campbell. 



Mr. J. Lucy. 



Lord Middleton he would *' see what he was made of." The animal 

 dropped in for a severe test, but according to his rider 

 stood it well. He went to within the last six miles, 

 when a sheep hurdle proved his barrier, and, in com- 

 pany with others whose horses had done enough, *' Nim- 

 rod " turned for home. In 1802, Mr. Apperley 

 hunted in Leicestershire, but the following year he came 

 to Warwickshire, taking up his residence at Bilton Hall, 

 near Rugby, whose roof has sheltered many another 

 worthy follower of local packs since that time. He 

 seems to have hunted in Warwickshire for some eight- 

 een years, after which he moved to Hampshire, and 

 commenced to employ his pea for the amusement and 

 instruction of his fellow sportsmen. Before his death 

 he passed some time at Calais. Mr. Campbell, whose 

 name occurs above in connection with Lord Molyneux, 

 was a leading man in Warwickshire in Lord Middle- 

 ton's tim3 and was a first-rate man over country. Mr. 

 John Lucy, who distinguished himself by being actually 

 up when the fox went to ground, was another of 

 the foremost men in Warwickshire. His name is 

 worthy of being handed down with the history of " the 

 Warwickshire," and may there never come a day when 

 Warwickshire may forget it or the family of which 

 he was a member, and which has ever been associated 

 with the hunt. 



I must not omit the name of Mr. Sheldon, of Brailes, 

 among those of the ** Warwickshire lads " worth record- 

 ing during Lord Middleton's period. He was one of 

 the best. His father, Mr. Ralph Sheldon, of Weston, 

 was a perfect sample of an old English gentleman. 



And who are we to put as the star of Lord Middle- 

 ton's time ? Without in any way disparaging the many 

 conspicuous sportsmen and riders who followed "the 

 Warwickshire," I think the chietplace must be assigned 

 to Mr. H. Wyatt. Next to Mr. R. Canning he is said 

 to have been the best man Warwickshire saw in its early 

 days. Singularly, too, he was not much behind Mr. 

 Canning in the matter of size, being only about an 



Mr. Sheldon. 



Mr. H. Wyatt. 



