L ord Spencer s Mastersh ip. 197 



Daring the period of liis first Viceroyalty, Lord Spencer 

 was desirous that Mr. Craven, Master of the ^^P.H.'^ at 

 that time, should bring the Pjtchley pack to Dublin for 

 a few days^ hunting in the Meath country. All was ar- 

 ranged for this sporting event to come off, but an accident 

 to Dick Roake, the^P.H.^' huntsman, necessitated the 

 giving up of the project. Determined, however, to intro- 

 duce a hunting-element other than that by which he was 

 surrounded, the Lord-Lieutenant invited six of his tenants 

 from Northamptonshire and other counties to be his 

 guests for a week^s hunting, he undertaking to mount 

 each of them twice, and to pay all expenses. 



The following six gentlemen, tenant-farmers all, re- 

 sponded to the invitation, and passed such a time as has 

 rarely fallen to the lot of the unfortunate agriculturist. 

 Treated with a hospitality and a consideration which far 

 exceeded all their preconceived ideas of what was likely 

 to happen, it seemed as though Paradise had opened its 

 portals to do them honour. From Northamptonshire 

 came Messrs. Henry Sandars of Brampton, George Gee 

 of Welford Lodge, W. Wykes, and F. Elliott of Brington. 

 Hertfordshire sent Mr. L. Cox; Warwickshire, Mr. F. 

 Fabling; and from out of Norfolk appeared that con- 

 summate horseman, Mr. Everett. Mounted on the picks 

 of the basket in the Viceregal stable, each and all did 

 credit to the different localities from which they came, 

 and somewhat surprised the ^^ bruisers ^' of Meath by 

 the facility with which they found their way across an 

 unaccustomed and difficult country. Messrs. Sandars 

 and Cox alone came to grief, and all went merry as a 

 marriage-bell from morn to night. Happy the tenant to 

 have such a landlord ; fortunate the country to have such 

 a Yiceroy ! 



