242 The Pytchley Hnnt, Past und P^xsent, 



more devoted worsliipper at tlie shrine of *^ all sorts and 

 descriptions of sport ! '' Bold as a lion across a country, 

 the fence is hard to find at which the lord of the Woollies 

 will not have " a cnt f and if pace is not his horse's 

 forte he makes it up in jumping powers. With him, 

 however, as with many a brother Squire, things are not 

 as they used to be. Wheat at 30s. per quarter and 

 New Zealand mutton mean " empty stalls and an absence 

 from the covert side ;'' and on the principle of " eating 

 a hair from the dog that bit you,'' the gallant Captain 

 has substituted shorthorns with a pedigree, for hunters 

 without one. Exchanging the Scylla of the chase for 

 the Charybdis of the farm. Agriculture is not to be de- 

 spaired of by this sanguine owner of many an acre of 

 ungrateful clay ; and taking for his motto " never say 

 die," he vows that with the aid of the " midden " and the 

 draining-pipe, he will force Madam Earth to repay some 

 of the money that has been lavished upon her. Not 

 being one of those who would try to '^ catch the wind in 

 a net," or " empty the sea with a pie-dish," it may be 

 looked upon as certain that he is not without good reason 

 for the faith that is in him ; and that he will eventually 

 win for himself the proud distinction of being pointed 

 out as ^* the pilot that has weathered the storm." 



A keen and eager shooter, woe betide the " bunny " 

 that crosses the ride within forty yards of the muzzle of 

 his gun. In his eyes the rabbit has not the same fault 

 that it possesses in those of Lord Granville and many 

 another, namely, of being ''^a little too short." Yide 

 Speech on '' Hares and Rabbits Bill " at an agricultural 

 dinner in the Isle of Thanet, on which occasion his lord- 

 ship is -reported to have saidj '^For my own part, I have 



