Scarlet, 



339 



smaller at last, and never liked to exceed twenty-three 

 inches. His bitches especially were sadly mute, but 

 he used to draw comfort from that, by vowing that it 

 was not a fault, but a beauty; and that as the first 

 few were the only ones that could possibly have the 

 scent, they alone had a right to open. One of his 

 greatest delights, when he was in the Cottesmore 

 country, was to select ten couple, and join packs with 

 the Duke. Osgodby Coppice furnished them a capital 

 day's sport, and another challenge to Lord Forester 

 resulted in such a hard ringing day, that Ben Morgan's 

 horse dropped in Honeypot Lane ; and one that had 

 been ridden by the Duke's first whip died that night. 

 Once too they clashed, and had a capital forty minutes 

 with a head at the end of it ; and on another occasion 

 both packs, when Sir Richard was master of the 

 Quorn, met by chance at Owthorpe, and ran out of 

 the Vale to Cotgrave, and killed at Cotgrave Gorse. 

 The Cottesmore Sorcerer (who never got but one litter 

 of two), by Sir Tatton Sykes's Bajazet from Sym- 

 phony, put them right up a road, and Will Goodall's 

 cheery comment of " Well done, old Bobtail T de- 

 lighted Sir Richard beyond measure. At these times 

 Sir Richard always said, ** Now, Will, you be hu7its- 

 man, and I'll whip in to you!' 



The Duke of Beaufort's Potentate His Favourite 

 (whose son Primate, from Beaufort Fatal Hounds. 

 is the sire of ten and a half of Earl Wemyss's best 

 hounds) took his work with Sir Richard's for a season. 

 His own Potentate was one of six couple by Trueman 

 from Parasol ; and Trueman by Belvoir Trueman 

 from Yarborough Pastime, was the very idol of his 

 heart. He not only took him regularly in his carriage 

 to cover, but would never let him go to any meet 

 where there was likely to be a crowd of " thrusting 

 scoundrels." He was a good-looking black and white 

 hound, with a slightly tan face, perhaps a little heavy- 

 .shouldered, but with immense power and bone. Being 



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