THE HISTORY OF THE BEL VOIR HUNT 



volunteers whenever we have a little war on hand, and drives 

 men from the Guard at Whitehall, from Hurlingham, and 

 from Melton to the banks of the Niger, the rough hills of the 

 Indian frontier, and the feverish swamps of Ashantiland. 

 The young Granby's first service was as a volunteer under 

 the Duke of Cumberland, a commander whose courage and 

 conduct as a soldier have never been sufficiently appreciated. 

 Cumberland was not the English, but the German type of 

 soldier — brave, capable, but to our ideas somewhat callous, 

 he was never liked or understood by our countrymen. 

 Granby, however, who was of the chivalrous English type, 

 appreciated the excellence of the Teuton in the art of war, 

 and served both Cumberland and Ferdinand of Brunswick 

 with loyalty and affection. He also volunteered to serve 

 against the rebels in 1745, and took part in the affair of 

 Strathbogie, and describes the devastation of the Highlands 

 by the English troops with the simplicity which always 

 gives power to his letters. It was some time after his return 

 from Scotland that Granby seems to have taken up the 

 mastership of the hounds, and from this time he paid great 

 attention to the improvement of the pack in the kennel. 



To the Cottesmore the Belvoir hounds went for their first 

 known change of blood, and Mr. Noel's Victor was used in 

 Lord Granby's kennel. On the other hand, the Belvoir 

 Dexter was the father of a litter put on by the Brocklesby. 

 Between the Belvoir and the Brocklesby there was indeed 

 thus early in the history of fox-hunting a considerable inter- 

 change of blood. Each pack had what the other lacked, for 

 the original Brocklesby hounds had plenty of bone and size, 

 though they were somewhat lacking in quality, while the 

 Belvoir wanted size and substance, though they were then, as 

 now, full of beautiful style and quality. It seems to me that 

 a distinct type of hound existed in each of these kennels at 

 the time fox-hunting arose, and that if we had sufficient 

 records and pictures we should find the Brocklesby hound 

 distinguished by his majestic strength and by a curious look 

 of wisdom and dignity, that the Belvoir hound was all pace 

 and quality like a race-horse, while the old Badminton sort 



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