142 THE TRINITY FOOT BEAGLES 



Williams Wynn, Bart., M.F.H.) the previous season. J. ]\I. was 

 ever the essence of keenness, and immediately set to work to 

 improve the Kennel management and the hounds. The former 

 was thin and bad. For many years the Kennelman had been " old 

 Jackson," who always wore a funny, round, sham-sealskin cap, and 

 looked like a retired bargee. Whether he deserved the bad moral 

 reputation he had is open to doubt, but his roughness, neglect, and 

 dirt in the Kennels at this time were undoubted. J. M. soon 

 determined to end this, and engaged the well-known " Bob Floate," 

 who still flourishes. He came from Storrington, where in those 

 days the well-known Be v. J. Faithful had a large cramming 

 establishment, which included among its attractions a pack of 

 beagles, of whicli B. Floate's father was the Kennelman. 



When " Bob " was established the next thing was to improve 

 the Pack. AVhen " Mother Hunt " went down he had an excellent 

 lot for work, but he took all the best of them away and hunted 

 them for some seasons from (old) Boreatton, his estate in Shropshire. 

 In Wynn's time nothing much was done to improve the remainder, 

 but in '83 E. A. M. bought two lots of hounds, besides stray lots, 

 one lot coming from T. Eiley Smith (afterwards Master of Stag- 

 hounds and Suffolk Foxhounds), and another lot which included 

 many blue-mottled hounds from somewhere in Leicestershire, and 

 after a good deal of drafting and a heavy loss from distemper — 

 during which the new hounds were taken to Free's farm (Free, in 

 those days, horsed and drove the hound van) — a very useful lot 

 remained. The cream in the season of 1883-84 was composed of 

 Dexter, Ptansom, Gadfly, Bashful, Harkaway, Fairmaid, Vanity, 

 Madcap, and Wilful. The latter was one of Riley Smith's. He had 

 a short stern and was a clinker on a cold scent. 



The hunt staff, or, as it was called then, " The Committee," 

 consisted of three Whips — G. Jjuxton, A. W. Drury, W. Hyde 

 I'arker. The latter was a Clare man, but there was usually one 

 out-college Whip. 



G. Buxton was a great runner, and ran in the Three Miles against 

 Oxford, and used to get us to run witli him when training on the 

 track, but his stride was tremendous ! He had a very well-broken 



