CHASING AND RACING 105 



It was a heart-breaking day for me when the auction 

 was held. I studiously absented myself. I could not 

 bear to see my beauties paraded in couples and knocked 

 down to strangers. The only consolation and sop to 

 my pride which was vouchsafed me, was that they were 

 so thoroughly appreciated by leading masters and 

 houndmen that the prices obtained spoke eloquently 

 of the success that had attended my activities and my 

 endeavours to produce a first-class pack in record time. 

 One of my stallion hounds, which had been an excep- 

 tionally brilliant worker and an exceedingly handsome 

 specimen of his race, was purchased by Chandos Pole, 

 who used him to such effect that, two seasons later, he 

 had no less than twelve and a half couples in his entry 

 owning this hound as sire. This was Sampson, by 

 Brocklesby Weathergauge, a son of Belvoir Weather- 

 gauge. Trimmer, a rich tan son of the last named, 

 and one of the grandest hounds I ever owned, went to 

 the Devon and Somerset Staghounds, where he soon 

 asserted his transcendent merit ; but he met his death 

 in strange fashion. A hunted stag had taken to a 

 mill pool, the wheel of which was in ply. Trimmer, 

 who had led the pack from the start, leapt without 

 hesitation upon the revolving wheel, only to be dashed, 

 stunned and broken, into the pool below. When 

 taken out he was quite dead. Alas, poor Trimmer ! 



It had always been intensely interesting to me to 

 study the characters and idiosyncrasies of every hound 

 in my pack. None impressed me more than that of 



