278 COVERT-SIDE SKETCHES. 



carried by horses of all sizes from fourteen-tliree to sixteen-two, 

 and had some half-bred Arabs, which had as much "svear and 

 tear about them as anything — the one by an English horse out 

 of an Arabian mare, which carried him for nine seasons, being 

 better than the one produced by the cross the other way. His 

 last horse Avas Comus, given him by his Eoyal Highness the 

 Prince of '^\^ales, who had ridden him at Oxford, and at Mr. 

 Davis's death the horse was shot at his especial desire, and an 

 ear buried in the same grave with him. In hounds he stuck to 

 the old Goodwood sort, which he said wore longest, and, unlike 

 the great John Warde, had not the slightest objection to what, 

 in kennel parlance, is known as a snipe-nosed hound. But I 

 expect in his day, as in the present, they did not breed a very 

 great number themselves, and relied, in a great measure, on 

 drafts from the best fox-hound kennels to keep the pack up to 

 the regulation standard. 



I have hung long over the story of Charles Davis, because 

 he was quite an exceptional man, and would have been so in 

 any situation in Hfe, and yet have not told half that might be 

 said about him. However, wiry and enduring as he was, the 

 old scythe-bearer at last wore him down ; and, notwithstanding 

 an arrangement was made by which Harry King, who was a 

 son of Charles King, of Pytchley fame (and having come here 

 from the Atherstone in 1835, and been for some years first whip), 

 hunted the hounds, as in reality he had done for some years, 

 Davis felt forced to send in his resignation. Her Majesty 

 begged him to reconsider his determination — a kindness of 

 which he was naturally most proud. However, the end was 

 soon to come, for a bad fall confined him to the house, and at 

 the end of the season he was permitted to retire. He was never 

 destined to see another, and on the 26th of October, 1866, died 

 apparently free from pain, and his funeral was attended by 

 friends and admkers from all parts of the country. 



Before taking leave of the grand old huntsman, I must, for a 

 moment, revert to the almost national testimonial which was 



