200 RECORDS OF OLD TIMES 



any attempt at classification. And there was 

 elaborate blundering as well as confusion. Sheep 

 were in pens under the head of ' pigs,' and, in short, 

 everything appeared in an inextricable muddle. The 

 fact was, that no great exhibition had ever before been 

 held in the country, and there was no one to put things 

 right, or any authority peremptorily directing the 

 whole. Mr. Shillitoe, it appeared, was only manager 

 of the dogs and poultry, and was utterly ignorant of 

 everything else. Fortunately, the late Mr. Clarke, at 

 that time the very able agent to Lord Chesham, with 

 Messrs. Duckering, of Yorkshire pig fame, and a 

 few others who were old hands at our English 

 agricultural shows, were present; so with their assist- 

 ance we set to work, literally taking off our coats, 

 and put the live stock somehow into order. My 

 fellow judges also assisted to the best of their ability, 

 and by the evening we had reorganised the classes 

 so as to enable us to commence judging on the 

 morrow. That happened to be Sunday, so little 

 was done, and with my English acquaintances we 

 paid a visit to a very charming place on the banks 

 of the Elbe, called Blankenese, a sort of Richmond, 

 about five miles distant. We had an excellent 

 dinner, and after enjoying the lovely scenery, came 

 back to Hamburgh in good time to visit some of the 

 sights of the city. 



On Monday we began in earnest. The live stock 

 was fairly good, but the British exhibitors carried 

 everything before them, and Lord Chesham 's Shrop- 

 shire sheep excited much admiration. I was able to 



