HUNTING TOURS. 8 1 



his seventj-first year two months before his 

 death. He was wont to accompany the pack 

 through many a glorious run from the phice 

 where no man in his position was more highly 

 respected, and where " now he rests in peace." 



The stoutness of Mr. Osbaldeston's hounds 

 has always been a subject of admiration. 

 Much of this was attributed to kennel man- 

 agement or feeding ; but with that as an 

 accessory, their high breeding was the primi- 

 tive source. He had two strains of blood, 

 the Rockets and the Furriers, singularly 

 celebrated for their stoutness for many gene- 

 rations. This is essentially one of the very 

 important secrets in breeding hounds of the 

 highest pretensions. Pedigrees must be closely 

 studied to promote success ; the perfections 

 of sires and dams are of little avail unless 

 they are inheritances. 



The wonderful stoutness of the pack was 

 most severely tested on the 7th or 8th of 

 May, during one of the seasons when Mr. 

 Osbaldeston hunted the Pytchley country, 

 which he entered upon either in 1827 or 

 1828, having at that time resigned the Quorn 

 to Lord Southampton. The scene was laid 

 in Rockingham forest, acknowledged to be 



E 5 



