THE EARL OF KINTORE 55 



possession, the following may not prove wholly uninterest- 

 ing to my readers, as illustrative of his humorous style 

 of composition : — 



Febry ye 24. " Gask Kennel, Turriff, N. B. 



" My dear H , 



" Many thanks for ye ' Stave,' which I rec*^ at 

 Keith Hall, where I went to keep my Xmas, ye 20*^ of 

 last month, 18 miles distant from this kennel, ye centre 

 of my country : you'll find this last season, or else I 

 am greatly mistaken, that a few have had uncommon 

 sport, but that ye majority with Ego I have had but 

 very middling, owing entirely to a total want of ye 

 sine qua non and untoward Boreas unhunting like 

 weather — when I left ' that ere Vale,' between Farringdon 

 and Lydiard woods, I bid adieu to real fox-hunting, but this 

 Johny Groat's House Country, as it is, w^ delight old 

 Codrington cum multis aliis of my acquaintance. When 

 I got down the Man whose Ancester Johny Cope ran 

 away from Preston Kirk there, he exclaimed to me in 

 ye heart of it one Summer day. How could you move 

 from home when you had a country like this, so handy 

 to y"^ use ? I replied, ye Lack and ye love of Society. 



I regretted very much, H , you had not time to have 



run down by the Mail, and have taken a look at my 

 Tykes, 1^ have shown you as perfect, for her inches, 

 a Bitch by old Valiant, as ever stood on ye flags of a 

 kennel. I understand Moreton has had a good season 

 and a capital run, 14 days ago from Down Ampney, 



and had also a proper breeze with old Jack , a 



horrible wild one for the time he's been at it, and ought 

 to know better in every way. Now I am going to ask a 

 favour of you, and between you, old Codrington and 



