168 HUNTING IN MANY COUNTRIES. 



was — and is — an enthusiast, and his mastership was a suc- 

 cessful one, most particularly as regards the pack, which was 

 enormously improved during the eight seasons Mr. Swan had 

 the hounds. I never saw the Morpeth during this period, but 

 frequently heard what a fine pack they were and what good 

 sport they showed, and the prowess of the pack is proved by the 

 fact that when Mr. Swan resigned in 1902 he sold his hounds 

 privately to Mr. Cresswell for £3,000, the sum to be paid 

 having been agreed upon by hound experts. Mr. Cresswell 

 was then leaving the Percy after a mastership of six seasons, 

 but he never went to the Morpeth after all, but passed the 

 pack on at (I believe) a slight discount to Mr. Frank Buddie 

 Atkinson, who is in office to the present day. Mr. 

 Atkinson, who will be remembered by racing men 

 as one of the best soldier jockeys of his day, and 

 whoi at' one tiime owned many high-olass cross-country 

 horseisi, has thoroughly maintained the status of the 

 kennel, the blood of which is now to be found in nearly all 

 the northern hunts. Personally, I have seen hounds that 

 were excellent in their work in other packs, but sired by Mor- 

 peth hounds, and I know, for example, that Morpeth Printer, 

 bred by Mr. Swan in 1900, did immense good in many 

 northern kennels. Printer was by the Morpeth Glenwood, a 

 son of the Belvoir "Watchman, who was by the famous Belvoir 

 Gambler out of Primrose, by the Warwickshire Warlock. 

 Another hound from the Morpeth kennels I used to hear of 

 as siring good stock in other kennels a few years ago was 

 Solomon, who was by the Belvoir Dasher, a son of Belvoir 

 Dexter — the last named, to my mind, the best-looking hound 

 I ever saw, and he, like Morpeth Printer, was by the Belvoir 

 Watchman. Some years ago I was one of the judges 

 at a Morpeth puppy show, and at the time gave some 

 account of the pack in the Field, and I was last at the 

 River Green kennels just a week before war was declared, and 

 when the grave situation of the European Powers was more 

 ta,lked about than the excellent lot of puppies that were 

 judged that day. During Mr. Atkinson's mastership I have 

 seen the pack at work on two or three occasions, but have 

 not been lucky enough to come in for one of their big hunts. 

 Once, however, \ saw a very large field after a meet at High 



