398 ASHGILL; OR, THE LIFE 



the tribute of "melodious tears." A Bichmond 

 man, born and bred, he was beloved in the 

 old Yorkshire borough where he had passed all 

 his days, as a sportsman of the finest instincts. 

 Of a most hospitable disposition, his house on market 

 and race days was "Liberty Hall," and nothing de- 

 lighted him more than to be surrounded by a circle of 

 old friends, enjoying the bounty of his board, or a bottle 

 of good old port. A breeder of thoroughbreds for 

 many years, he, in his youth, was also a keen follower 

 of the Duke of Cleveland's, now Lord Zetland's, hounds. 

 An excellent judge of horse flesh, he both bred and 

 raced them, the best he bred being Digby Grand and 

 Grand Flaneur. Old Jim Watson, of Belleisle, 

 trained for him, and that worthy, who was in his 

 seventy-seventh year at the time of his friend's decease, 

 was overcome by the loss of one of the kindest-hearted 

 gentlemen that ever claimed the name. One of Mr. 

 Young's greatest friends was Mr. " Billy " Williamson, 

 brother-in-law of the late Lord Zetland, and who was a 

 great authority on thoroughbreds and foxhounds. Mr. 

 Williamson mated all the hounds for his noble brother- 

 in-law's celebrated pack. On the congenial topics of 

 horse and hound the two almost inseparable " cronies " 

 had many a warm debate. The late Marquis Talon, 

 who about this period had a few horses at Belleisle 

 under Jim Watson, was also a great "chum" of 

 "Sandy" and Mr. "Billy," and when the master of 

 Belleisle joined issue over the " tawny," they formed a 

 grand quartette of Yorkshire "worthies." Each, alas, 

 has now passed into the shadowy land. Old Jim Watson, 

 whose pronounced guttural "burr" declared his 

 Northumbrian descent, delighted to recall the times of 

 Bee's-wing and her playful pranks as a yearling in the 



