PETERBOROUGH MEMORIES, 1881-1909 3 



inspired the pen of that earnest poet and sports- 

 man the late Canon Kingsley, who describes him in 

 the following fine passage : " The result of nature, 

 not limited, but developed by high civilisation. 

 Next to an old Greek statue there are few such 

 combinations of grace and strength as in a fine fox- 

 hound. Majesty is the only word, for if he were 

 ten feet high instead of twenty-three inches, with 

 what animal on earth could you compare him ? It 

 is joy to see such perfection alive." The same 

 sentiment was echoed by the present 

 Lord Willoughby de Broke, speaking 

 at a meeting of the Warwickshire 

 hunt in the autumn of 1908, when 

 he said : " We have in these islands 

 one of the finest classes of horses the 

 world ever produced. With the pos- 

 sible exception of a thoroughbred 

 foxhound, there is no more noble 

 animal than the thoroughbred horse." ^ ^'"^''P ''''''^• 



Mr. Henry Chaplin, master of the famous Blank- 

 ney and Burton hunts in the seventies, also drew 

 comparisons between horse and hound when he said, 

 " Excess of bone development in a race-horse or 

 a foxhound may amount to vulgarity." Both are 

 aristocrats of their respective species, and must be 

 regarded as triumphs of breeding. 



Such a gathering gives us a comprehensive view 

 of the following of the chase, a convincing proof of 

 the reality of fox-hunting, which has proved a power 

 for good, and helped to mould the character of the 

 nation. The standard of excellence set on the flags 

 at Peterborough has undoubtedly fostered the ambi- 

 tion to breed better hounds throughout the country, 

 for every year fresh kennels put forward candidates 

 to compete for honours. The solemn assembly of 



