364 



about him j^ost-morteiii which go to prove that since the days of the 

 Assyrian Nimrod we never had a greater sportsman. 



The Standard of Friday, August 3, 1866, gives an obituary, in 

 which it states : — 



" In recording the death of Mr. George Osbaldeston, in his seventy- 

 ninth year, which took place at his residence, Grove Road, St. John's 

 Wood, on the 1st inst., we would make a few remarks respecting his 

 unparalleled career, believing, as we do, that he was the greatest 

 practical sportsman that England or any other country ever produced; 

 indeed, there is not a foxhunter, shooter, angler, cricketer or billiard- 

 player either in this or the last generation who has not, at least, heard 

 of the wonderful performances of 'the old Squire.' 



"There are and have been several 'old Squires' in various parts of 

 the country, and worthy sportsmen too, but for the last thirty years 

 the question, ' Which old Squire ? ' was never put, as everybody knew 

 that Mr. Osbaldeston was the gentleman referred to. Nor can this be 

 wondered at, for his deeds far outshone those of any sportsman either 

 dead or alive. He may have been equalled in one particular branch 

 of sport, as the generality of men excel only in one line, but Mr. 

 Osbaldeston excelled in everything he undertook, and in his day con- 

 quered everybody with whom he came in contact." 



Captain Ross, writing of him soon after his death, testified that " as 

 one who went in at everything in the ring he was the best man 

 England had produced during the present century. He was generous 

 and kind-hearted, and never spoke harshly of others or allowed it to be 

 done in their absence." 



Owing to his confiding disposition he was robbed and deceived by 

 some of those he trusted most, with a result in the end that his 

 financial affairs got into confusion, and not having sufficient moral 

 nerve to pull up in time, or business capacity requisite to get himself 

 out of his troubles, this great man who had started in life with the 

 heritage of a splendid estate and a brilliant fortune had to succumb 

 to circumstances and end his days in comparative oblivion. 



Deep, deep is the pity that such should have been the fate of perhaps 

 the greatest sportsman England ever produced. 



Captain Horatio Ross 

 of Rossie Castle, in Forfarshire, was another of our great all-round 

 sportsmen. Born in 1801, he was fourteen years younger than Mr. 

 Osbaldeston. In his early days, with a large stud of good hunters, 

 he spent the winters at Melton, and the greater part of the rest 

 of the year in the Highlands. There, for a trifle, he rented huge 

 tracts -of land, which, nowadays, fetch thousands a year. Deer were 

 then scarce, but young Ross was constantly in pursuit of them, and, 

 after roaming over enormous extents of hill country, would leave off 

 perhaps twenty or thirty miles from his shooting lodge. To this he 

 had to walk for there were no roads to ride, much less to drive over. 



