THE PATRON OF CRABBE 



perfection. When Mr, Musters' pack was sold to Sir Harry 

 Harpur the hounds were for a time hunted by Shaw, who 

 afterwards became huntsman to the Belvoir. The older 

 Musters had hunted a part of Lincolnshire and Notts, and 

 he had probably in his turn borrowed blood from the Belvoir 

 kennels, which was now returned. The Fitzwilliam or Milton 

 blood was even then celebrated, though this pack only dates 

 from the year 1769. These hounds had undoubtedly sprung 

 from one of a different type to that which was the root of the 

 Belvoir race. A larger, bigger-boned hound, the dog-hounds 

 standing perhaps twenty-five inches, but full of drive and 

 dash, for though big, they were never heavy or slow. 



The Fitzwilliam, as we shall see, was destined in after years 

 to give to and receiv^e from the Belvoir kennel many hounds, 

 nor were there any sorts that nicked more completely. Both 

 were pure-bred animals. The Brocklesby only has had more 

 influence on the Belvoir kennels than the grand old Milton 

 strain. 



In 1779 John of the Hill passed away. He had led a life 

 of retirement, though not of seclusion, and, like most of his 

 family, he had exercised a quiet but real influence on politics 

 and on the society of his own neighbourhood. To rule the 

 estates of his family wisely and well was indeed a career for 

 any man, and it would perhaps not have been a bad thing if 

 his grandson and successor had followed in his footsteps. At 

 his grandfather's death the fourth Duke was twenty-five years 

 of age, and he had already been married for four years to Mary 

 Isabella Somerset, daughter of the fourth Duke of Beaufort, 

 one of the most beautiful and charming women of her age. 

 The Duchess Isabella, whose portraits at Belvoir show that 

 her beauty was not exaggerated, has lived in the memory of 

 those who came after her in clearer outline than the Duke, 

 her husband. This in spite of the latter's abilities, which 

 were undoubted, and, had he lived longer, might have given 

 him a high place among the statesmen of the latter part of 

 George III.'s reign, for great beauty confers an immortality 

 on its possessors almost, if not quite, as enduring as genius. 



The beautiful women of history live side by side in the 



61 



