52 REMINISCENCES, ETC. 



Mr. Warde, and, as a proof of this, on one occasion he 

 deputed Mr. F to ofifer Mr. Horlock, who had pur- 

 chased Mr. Warde's pack for £2,000, 1,000 guineas for 

 twenty couples, which Mr. Smith was to pick out from 

 the kennel, without any other aid to guide him than his 

 own well- practised eye, in making the selection. 



One of the most surprising, and at the same time inter- 

 esting, scenes to witness was the " fascination " he seemed 

 to possess over hounds, and the strong attachment they 

 always evinced towards their master. " I recollect," relates 

 one of his friends, " his once having out five couples of 

 drafts whom he had never seen before. Sharp, his kennel 

 huntsman at that time, gave him their names written 

 down ; he then called each hound separately, and after 

 giving him a piece of bread, returned the list to the hunts- 

 man, saying, '/ know them now;' and so they did him." 

 On other occasions when the fixture was *' Oare Hill," and 

 the hounds were awaiting his arrival, Dick Burton used to 

 say, "Master is coming I perceive by the hounds;" and 

 this, too, long before he made his appearance. When he 

 came within three hundred yards, no huntsman or whip in 

 the world could have stopped the pack from bounding to 

 meet him. In the morning when let loose from the kennel, 

 they would rush to his study window or to the hall door, 

 and stand there till he came out. 



But we must not omit to make particular mention here 

 of some of his especial favourites in the kennel at different 

 periods. 



Conspicuous among these stands Solyman, a very fine 

 and large grey hound ; indeed, Nimrod says he was the 

 largest ever bred in England, standing twenty-seven inches 

 high, and with bone equal to many ponies. Mr. Smith 

 was fond of remarking that he would as soon take this 

 hound's word about a fox as any man's in England. Thi'' 

 saying is like what Mr. Osbaldeston said of his horse 

 Vaulter. that he never told a lie in his life. Solyman had, 



