AUGUSTUS F. ROSS 113 



middle of the night soon after, with the result that, 

 in Back's own words : "I packed up my tack in the 

 morning, got my money and started.'' 



Mr. Ross kept on the kennels at Oakford. Kings- 

 teicmton. His establisiiment in his first season is 

 described in a newspaper of the period as comprising 

 forty-two couple of hounds and eight hunters ; but, 

 from the Field table of himts, the pack appears to 

 have been drafted down to thirty -two couple and a 

 half before the season opened : quite as many, one 

 would imagine, as the Oakford kennels could accom- 

 modate. 



I have heard Miss "\Miidborne speak of the contrast 

 between Westlake's simple though workmanlike turn- 

 out, and the tip-top style of Ross in his first season, 

 when he carried the horn himself and had three 

 whippers-in — Arthur Mason, Xat Smith and Harry 

 Freeman — master and men in leather breeches, all 

 verv smart and well mounted. In his second season, 

 the second and third wliips were replaced by WiUiam 

 Dra}i:on and Ben Bowers. 



The cubhunting was very satisfactory^-, which is 

 not surprising, for Westlake's popularity had left the 

 country well stocked with foxes. Tlie pack met on 

 the opening day of the regular season, November 1st, 

 at Lindridge, and a field of a hundred and fifty was 

 present to greet the new master and criticize the new 

 regime. Colonel Templer was not then at Lindridge, 

 which was in the temporary occupation of Governor 

 Eyre, who proved an excellent proxj- for the Colonel 

 in the way of hospitahty, for those were the days 

 of substantial hunt breakfasts. The only record of 

 the day's sport is that they had a capital run of 

 an hour and a half, and pulled down their fox in a 

 field of mangold near *' Prestow,"' which may be 



