LORD SUFFIELD 177 



With him no hunter ever dare refuse ; 



His hand so perfect, damnable his muse ! x 



Strange, tho' for years I've listened to the crowd 



Who canvass character, the rich, and proud, 



Of him alone, as yet I never heard 



One kindly action or approving word ; 



Sparing of cash, he ne'er outruns his bounds, 



And Suffield keeps, whilst Gardner hunts the hounds. 



At the time of his taking the country, Lord Suffield 

 had neither hounds nor huntsman. Mr. Ralph Lambton, 

 who in his early days had hunted in Leicestershire 

 before succeeding his brother in the mastership of the 

 family pack, gave up his hounds just as Lord Suffield 

 was in want of a pack, and then after some little diffi- 

 culty the new master bought them for the consider- 

 able sum of 3000 guineas. Sir Matthew White Ridley, 

 master of the Blagdon Hunt in Northumberland, wanted 

 the Lambton hounds for his country, but he gave way, 

 and they became the property of Lord Suffield. 



It is worthy of note that not long before they left 

 Durham " Nimrod " paid them a visit, and wrote of 

 them in highly eulogistic terms, making especial mention 

 of the fact that they were extremely steady from riot. 



Another circumstance occurred which created a smile. Whilst 

 picking out a cold scent in the middle of a rough grass-field, all 

 the pack being at work, a brace of hares jumped up in view; not 

 a hound noticed them, on which I heard Mr. Lambton say : " I 

 hope the Professor (' Nimrod ') saw that." I did see it, and I 

 agree with Lord Kintore that any wild animal jumping up in view 

 of hounds in a moment of disappointment and baffle, such as this 

 was, puts their steadiness from riot to the test, and if unnoticed 

 confirms it. 



Lord Suffield, together with his brother-in-law Lord 

 Gardner, took Lowesby Hall, which had previously been 

 occupied by the Marquis of Waterford and Lord Glen- 

 dyne, and celebrated as the scene of the Marquis's res 



1 Vide his rhymes in the " Book of Beauty." 



M 



