THE COTTESMORE. 127 



however, given up a portion of tlie best of the country to Mr. 

 Tailby. He now began, I believe, with drafts principally from 

 Belvoir, and, setting to work, bred an exceedingly good pack of 

 hounds, although it is somewhat singular that, like Lord Lons- 

 dale before him, he ran counter to the present fancy for small 

 ones, and bred them larger than most people. He had one 

 celebrated dog-hound called Seaman that he won the prize with 

 as the best unentered puppy, when the Yorkshire show was held 

 at Thirsk ; and a very grand hound he certainly was. Lord 

 Kesteven's (for he was raised to the peerage by that title) 

 hounds could hunt, and had plenty of music, and in Jack 

 West's hands, who went from Badminton, where he had 

 whipped-in to Tom Clarke, showed very good sport, though 

 the men were certainly not so well mounted as they should 

 have been to live with hounds over such a country as the 

 Cottesmore. The Hambledon had the draft from this pack for 

 some time, and I believe they did well on the cold chalk hills, 

 flints, and bad scenting-grounds of Hampshire — a sure sign that 

 they had been bred the right way. 



In 1870 Lord Kesteven resigned, and Colonel Lowther, 

 afterwards Lord Lonsdale, took the country, and built new 

 kennels at Barleythorpe, as the old ones at Little Bytham, 

 where they had stood in Lord Kesteven's time, were very 

 poor indeed. The portion whidh had been ceded to Mr. 

 Tailby, and hunted by him, was now reclaimed, and the whole 

 thing, if I may use the term, new modelled, the men being 

 capitally mounted, and Jack West, having proper instruments 

 to work upon, was enabled to show them what sort of a tune 

 he could play over a country, and that his hand had not 

 lost its cunning since he used to ride in such fine form in 

 the Gloucestershire. Colonel Lowther succeeded to the title 

 of Lord Lonsdale soon after taking the country, which un- 

 happily he did not live long to enjoy, as he died about three 

 years ago. He was a very heavy man, and consequently could 

 not ride much himself ; nevertheless, he was a good sportsman, 



