THE DUKE AS M.F.H. 255 



the Master took up the duties from pure love of the sport 

 when iu the full vigour and energy of his early manhood. 

 Then his position as heir to the ducal estate of Trentham, 

 and residing in the very centre of the Hunt, with the 

 kennels and stables close to his own door, surely must be 

 credited as a great handicap in his favour. It would 

 be unbecoming to say much about his Grace's personal 

 qualities in this connection, but no one who knows any- 

 thing of North Staffordshire requires to be told that the 

 Duke's kindness and tact, and that indefinable quality 

 which we call personal charm, are potent factors in the 

 success of his Mastership. His popularity in the Hunt, 

 both with landowners and farmers, and sportsmen of every 

 degree, may be said to be unbounded, and no one who 

 hunts with these hounds, or attends the frequent hospi- 

 talities at Trentham, will dissent from this opinion. A 

 word ought to be said about the Master's exceptional 

 consideration for the farmers of the district. No pains 

 are spared to avoid all unnecessary damage to the crops 

 and fences, and every effort is made to assist them by 

 purchases of produce in the district. Of his tact and 

 kindness as Master in the field, the writer can speak 

 warmly from nearly twenty years' experience, and one 

 could not wish for a more courteous or considerate chief. 

 We have sfoken elsewhere of the Duke's success in hound- 

 breeding, and of the advantage of having such a skilful 

 and experienced adviser as his brother-in-law, Mr. H. 

 Chaplin, and such able managers in the kennel as Dickins 

 and Boxall. 



The Duke has for several years past hunted the lady 

 pack himself on Mondays and Fridays, and is always 

 zealous to show sport. We have endeavoured to steer 

 clear both of criticism and flattery in writing of the 

 Duke's Mastership, as we felt it incumbent upon us to do, 

 but we should be sorry to conclude this short sketch 

 without expressing as emphatically as we can, what we 

 believe to be not only our own wish, but the wish of every 

 member of the Hunt, that the Duke will for many years 



