242 THE QUORN HUNT 



for his devoted allegiance to his sovereign, raised to 

 the peerage as Lord Lexington; but the title became 

 extinct, though it is by no means certain that it could 

 not have been successfully claimed by later members 

 of the family. Sir Richard, who was the eldest son of 

 Mr. John Sutton, son of Sir Richard Sutton, formerly 

 Under-Secretary of State, was born on the 16th Decem- 

 ber 1798, and when in his fourth year succeeded to 

 the baronetcy, on the death of his grandfather, the first 

 holder of the title. As a most courteous gentleman and 

 a keen all-round sportsman he had scarcely any equal. 

 Possibly Assheton Smith was rather the bolder horseman 

 of the two, and both had their fields under command ; 

 but Sir Richard was the more careful man ; he had more 

 consideration for his horses than had Mr. Smith. As a 

 shot, Sir Richard Sutton shone supremely. 



General Anson, then accounted one of the best rabbit 

 shots of the day, was once backed against Sir Richard 

 Sutton for a day's rabbit-shooting at Colonel Peel's. Sir 

 Richard arrived rather late — a most unusual circumstance 

 for him, who was the essence of punctuality. He was 

 informed that a wa^er had been made as to his score 

 compared with that of Colonel Anson, but he merely 

 replied, "Never mind; I shall be with him presently;" 

 and so he was, as before three o'clock in the afternoon 

 he was several couples to the good, and eventually won. 



Like many another good sportsman, Sir Richard had 

 strong likes and dislikes. Differing from Mr. Osbaldeston, 

 he could not endure pigeon-shooting, and he compared 

 carrying a bird to a trap and shooting it to turning a stag 

 out of a cart ; but his experience of stag-hunting appears 

 to have been confined to an unlucky day with Mr. Robert 

 Hamond's staghounds when he was down in Norfolk for 

 shooting. The hounds met on the confines of Swaffham 

 Heath, about seven miles from Lindford ; but on this par- 

 ticular occasion the stag, by his " cussedness," enabled 



