PREDECESSORS 



227 



of nearly killing an Arabian mare in a run of thirty miles, 

 which is not to be wondered at, seeing that he adds, ' I 

 stopped at nothing,' Lord Beaconsfield can hai-dly be said 

 to have kept up his riding. Mr. Gladstone's riding was 

 limited to the observances of the Liver Brigade in Botten 

 Eow. Mr. Carlyle rode far and fast for pleasure and dys- 

 pepsia, but there is no reason to think that he was in any 

 sense a horseman ; like most Scotchmen he speaks and 

 thinks of them as ' beasts,' although from time to time he 

 handsomely acknowledges the good care which the ' very 

 clever creatures ' take of him. Sir Eobert Peel was a clumsy 

 and inelegant rider, and his death is attributed by most of 

 his biographers to his weak seat, which prevented him 

 recovering his horse's stumble. But enough of these incon- 

 sequences, I must get back to the title of this chapter. 



As the first Master of the Privy or Household Pack, 

 George Boleyn, Viscount Kochford, Henry VIII. 's Master of 

 the Buckhounds (1528-1536) is the proper person to begin 

 with. Lord Eochford had his full share of the prosperity of 

 his family at Court. One way and another father, mother, 

 sisters, brother, all made the most of good looks, shrewd 

 heads, and slender scruples. Sir Thomas and Lady Boleyn 

 could point with satisfaction to an earldom, the garter, a 

 rebuilt country house, and fat acquisitions of property : 

 Mary Boleyn for a time enjoyed the prestige of being the 

 king's mistress : Anne became his lawful queen : George 

 Boleyn was given the Buckhounds, and received many other 

 pleasant and profitable marks of Eoyal favour. He is a 

 favourite with most of his biographers. His personal gifts 

 were of a kind which I hope will always command respect. 

 He could ride, and shoot, and dance, and make love, and 

 lead a masquerade better than his neighbours. But his 

 intellectual attainments appear to have been considerable. 

 ' II a laisse cliez ses contemporains,' says M. Bapst, ' une 



