66 DUKE OF Cleveland's reason for giving up. 



department themselves ; amongst them we may enu- 

 merate Lord Ducie, Mr. Musters, and Mr. Foljambe, 

 and, to the eye of an indifferent observer, their hounds 

 may perform their work without the slightest cause 

 for reproach ; yet I have no doubt if these gentlemen 

 would undertake the fatigue and trouble of doing it 

 themselves, their performances in the chase would be 

 much more to their satisfaction, and many a hound, 

 which is put away as not being able to go the pace, 

 or for tiring, would be by such means redeemed*. Mr. 

 Osbaldeston, although an indefatigable field huntsman, 

 seldom or never troubled himself about the feeding ; 

 after his kennel-huntsman left him in Northampton- 

 shire, that operation was generally performed by Wil- 

 liam Gardner, his boiler; and I must do him the 

 justice to say, that I never saw any pack of hounds 

 in the whole course of my experience as a fox-hunter, 

 which could go so killing a pace, both in cover and in 

 the open, run so well together, and carry so fine a head 

 or last out such long and tiring days, as those of Mr. 

 Osbaldeston. They were never whipped off" till it was 

 quite dark, even if twenty miles from home, if there was 

 the least chance of killing their fox ; and as the "Squire" 

 hunted six days a week, and frequently had two packs 

 out in a day, it was impossible for his head man, Jack 

 Stevens, to feed, consequently the hounds were gene- 

 rally, if not always, fed during the hunting season by 

 Will. Gardner, who was considered by far the best 



* The Duke of Cleveland, even to the last season of his keeping hounds, was 

 so devoted to them, as to stay after hunting during the whole operation of feeding 

 even when his clothes were soaked with rain. And to bad health and rheuma- 

 tism, arising from this practice, might be attributed his abandonment of the chase. 



