64 BEAUFORT HUNT: PAST AND PRESENT. 



of Beaufort, K.G. Time — any fair forenoon sent forth from the 

 sweet South, between the feasts of All Saints and Easter. Dramatis 

 Persons — by the following distinguished Company : — 



" No. 1. Count A. Esterhazy. When we find a foreign noble- 

 man, accustomed to very different amusements, enter into the chase 

 with the zeal, interest, and pleasure which the Count A. Esterhazy 

 shows for the sport of fox hunting, it is a strong proof of the influence 

 which the noble science is capable of exercising. In the costume of 

 the Beaufort Hunt, this accomplished young nobleman looks all 

 over a British Sportsman ; his presence at Badminton and in the 

 field is at all times hailed with pleasure, for a more affable and agree- 

 able man cannot exist. As a proof that the Count appreciates 

 hunting beyond the mere parade of being seen out with hounds, he 

 is in the habit frequently of visiting the kennel, and making enquiries 

 into the various minuti;e incident to the chase with anxious interest. 

 He rides fearlessly to hounds, and is an elegant horseman. 



" No.. 2. John Stanley, Esq. The performances of this gentle- 

 man with hounds are better known in Cheshire and some of the 

 crack Midland Counties than with the Beaufort Hunt, as he is only 

 an occasional visitor ; but the specimen he has given is enough to 

 confirm the report, that he is very difficult to beat. 



" No. 3. Lord Andover, as a sportsman, is gifted with the 

 happy combination which but few possess, the faculty of being 

 sufficiently forward to observe all the beautiful operations of the 

 pack, without a particle of that jealous feeling towards his compeers 

 which induces many to over ride hounds and destroy sport. His 

 Lordship is by no means a light weight, yet he is always in a good 

 place. As he resides within the limits of the Vale of White Horse 

 country, he hunts principally with the hounds of that district, and a 

 very clever pack of harriers of his own. During the intervals of sport 

 Lord Andover keeps his friends in spirits by the witty effusions 

 which flow from a source replete with anecdote and humour. 



" No. 4. Lord Alfred Paget. In consequence of the appoint- 

 ments which this nobleman holds at Court, as Clerk Marshall and 

 Chief Equerry to the Queen, the full enjoyment of field sports, which 

 his taste and inclination would lead him to adopt, of necessity yields 

 to his official duties. Whenever opportunities offer, however, he 

 makes up for lost time ; he is a bold and fearless horseman, and 

 always in a good place. The Duke of Beaufort usually mounts 

 Lord Alfred Paget, and on the occasion, represented in the picture, 

 Jew's-eye, a favourite horse belonging to His Grace, is seen in readiness 

 for his noble guest. It may be said of this most popular scion of 

 the house of Paget, that there is scarce a national sport of this country 

 which he has not practised and promoted, and very surely that 

 ' nihil quod teligit non ornavit.' 



