CHAPTER VII

Famous Servants of the Badminton Hunt

WITH

ITH the exceptions of the Belvoir and the Pytchley, no hunt in England has such a roll of servants as the Badminton.

If we turn back to the earliest days, we find that Beckford refers to the "famous Will Crane." This man was considered the best huntsman of his day. Tall and powerfully built, he was a strong horseman, who could, in spite of his weight, always manage to be with his hounds. Too great love of the bottle caused his retirement at last. To him succeeded Thomas Ketch, a man wholly devoted to sport and to his hounds. But he was a little rough with his tongue when spoken to by irresponsible persons. His master, the fifth Duke, recognised, however, that he had but the faults of his qualities. Ketch continued to carry the horn until old age obliged him to retire on a pension. Thomas Alderton, his successor, was one of those men who are first-rate as whippers-in, but of little use as huntsmen. As Alderton was a man of sound

sense, he recognised this fact, and one day he astonished the Duke by a request to be allowed to return to his old place. The Duke consented, and John Dilworth was consequently appointed to be huntsman. This man was a capital huntsman in the field, but in the kennel he was not so successful, and the quality of the pack soon declined. However, he too served as long as he could, and in the end retired with a pension.

Then came Philip Payne. The following story suggests that under his predecessor kennel discipline as well as kennel management had been somewhat defective. Philip Payne used to tell how, after he was installed as huntsman, he was preparing to walk the hounds in the park, when the whippers in appeared in the kennel loaded with couples. "What are these for?" "To put on the hounds, sir," and the whippers in went on to explain that they were accustomed to couple up the hounds when exercising in the park, for fear of their running riot among the deer. "Stuff and nonsense," was Philip's reply; "they won't run the deer while I am with them." And so it proved, thus adding one more evidence to the truth, that if you trust your hounds they will both trust and obey you. On Philip Payne's career it is not necessary to dwell further.

His successor was William Long, the most famous of all the Badminton huntsmen. Few men have excelled him as a horseman, as a breeder of hounds, or as a huntsman in the field.