Ubc 3fit3WiUiam 237 



miles to the meet. He was one who would never 

 come home until the hounds did. Mr. Bird always 

 bred his own horses, and mounted me on several 

 occasions when I was a youth. His brother John 

 Bird was a good sportsman, and a good preserver of 

 foxes, but not so hard as Robert, who was one of 

 the toughest men you could find. I never saw him 

 with an overcoat on the coldest day, and he always 

 had his tall hat tied on with two pieces of ribbon 

 under his chin, exactly like a woman's bonnet- 

 strings. I had almost forgotten to mention that 

 the Birds bred the celebrated racehorse ' Red 

 Shanks,' that afterwards turned out a real good 

 sire. There is a son, John Bird, still living, and 

 he keeps up the name as well as he possibly can, 

 and always breeds two or three nice chasers from 

 the old strain of blood ; among them that useful 

 horse ' Master of the Mines.' Amongst the more 

 juvenile members of the Fitzwilliam Hunt I must 

 mention young Alec Goodman, although he has left 

 the country now for Lincolnshire. I have seen him 

 go well enough to be considered a chip of the old 

 block. I must say, in concluding these very brief 

 notes on a hunt which can boast of many first- 

 rate riders and keen sportsmen, that I look upon 

 the Fitzwilliam as one of the best wild sporting 



