LETTER II. 15 



ledge and long experience. He has also a very able 

 assistant in Carter, who came into his service v^ith the 

 Grafton hounds. 



I have had many good hounds from Lord Fitzwilliam's 

 kennel, which has so long flourished under the able su- 

 perintendence of that first-rate huntsman, Sebright. Not 

 having seen the Belvoir pack for some years, I cannot 

 say what their appearance or performances may now be ; 

 but when I saw them some few years ago, Goosey being 

 huntsman, they were at that time the cleverest pack of 

 hounds for their height I had ever met with, and I have 

 looked over a few kennels in my time. There is also a 

 chance of obtaining some good drafts from Lord Henry 

 Bentinck's kennel in Lincolnshire. His present pack is 

 composed of Lord Ducie's, with an addition of some 

 twenty couples from Mr., Wyndham. No man living 

 was a better judge of the shape and make of a foxhound, 

 and what his performances ought to be in the field, than 

 Lord Ducie. He spared neither expense nor trouble in 

 getting together v/ell-bred hounds, and drafting largely 

 again, and to his liberality in this respect many of his 

 brother masters of hounds were deeply indebted. His 

 Lordship's retirement from public life as M. F. H. is 

 greatly to be deplored. There are also the Duke of 

 Beaufort's, a very old and popular sort, and deservedly 

 so ; they are a fine lot of hounds, the dogs large and 

 clever, with plenty of bone and power, straight on their 

 legs, and, in short, what foxhounds ought to be. The 

 lady pack, as near perfection as they can be. Under the 

 able direction of Will Long, the present huntsman, who 

 is not bigoted, as many are, to their own blood only, 

 these hounds are greatly improved within the last few 



