196 



THE WARWICKSHIRE HOUNDS. 



Lord 



WiLLOUGHBY DE 



Broke. 



His remarks 

 upon puppy - 

 walkers. 



Presentation to 

 Lord Willough- 

 by. 



An increased 

 subscription. 



at the Peterborough shows during late years speak 

 louder and plainer than can my pen. When he took 

 the country there was a poor entry, and he was told 

 that the country was a bad one for walking puppies, 

 and that he would not be able to get thirty couples 

 accepted. In three years, however, he had so aroused 

 the interest of his neighbours, and infused his enthu- 

 siam for the advancement of the pack into all parts of 

 the country, that he found no trouble in sending out 

 close on ninety couples. And Lord Willoughby 

 has never tired of urging upon puppy-walkers 

 their importance in the affairs of a pack. He 

 has almost, on occasions, seemed to place them even 

 in a more important position than the master himself. 

 The farmers, he has said, are the backbone of every 

 hunt, as they are of the whole country ; and the farmers 

 have repeatedly displayed the esteem they feel for his 

 Lordship in return. There is the recent dinner just 

 referred to, while in March 20th. 1884, they presented 

 him, at the White Lion Hotel, Banbnry, with a silver- 

 mounted riding whip. At the annual meeting of the 

 hunt held not long afterwards, he was presented 

 with a silver horn. In 1887, Lord Willoughby had 

 held the reins of office for eleven years, 

 and had devoted the whole of his time to the hunt 

 without asking for any increased subscription. At the 

 annual meeting of that year it became apparent that 

 the affairs of the hunt had grown so during the period, 

 that the members were putting too large a tax on his 

 Lordship's generosity, and an increase of £700 was pro- 

 posed. It is evidence of the popularity his Lordship 

 enjoys in his country that within a month £870 was 

 raised. Lady North, the Hon. Mrs. North, and the 

 Hon. Miss North had raised a ladies' subscription, 

 while the farmers had also come forward and helped 

 substantially. This enabled the guarantee to be raised 

 to £2,500. 



