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1806-1814.
IN April 1806, the members of
the Hunt were called together on particular business. This doubtless had
reference to the change in the management, referred to at the close of the
preceding chapter, which resulted in John, twelfth Lord Elphinstone, taking
over the control in the following summer, and entering into an agreement
with the Hunt, under which lie received a subscription of £500, afterwards
slightly increased, towards the maintenance of the establishment.
Lord Elphinstone was then
about thirty-six years of age. While Master of Elphinstone, he had entered
the army, and by the year 1794 had risen to the rank of lieutenant-colonel
of the Sixtieth Regiment of Foot. Soon afterwards he was transferred to the
battalion of the Royal Americans in Canada, and when there, through the
death of his father, the eleventh Lord, on the 19th of August 1794, he
succeeded to the title. In 1795 he had returned to England and received the
appointment of aide-de-camp to H.R. H. Frederick, Duke of York, then
Commander-in-chief of the army; while in June 1801 he appears to have sailed
for Egypt. The promotion in the army which he had hitherto received had been
rapid, and his subsequent advancement was striking. He exchanged from the
Royal Americans to the Sixty-First Regiment, and from that Regiment to the
Twenty-Sixth Cameronians, prior to his being appointed a major-general on
the 2nd of November 1805. In May 1806 he became colonel of the Twenty-Sixth
Regiment, and in the December of the same year, in the midst of his military
preferments, he was elected a representative peer. About that time he was
given the second command in Scotland, and on the 30th of December 1811 he
was appointed by the Prince - Regent to take rank by brevet as
lieutenant-general in the army. In addition to his other appointments, Lord
Elphinstone was lord-lieutenant for the county of Dumbarton.
The year 1806 was thus not an
uneventful one in Lord Elphinstone's life, but his election as master of the
Linlithgow and Stirlingshire Hounds, and as a representative peer were not
the only incidents of note which occurred in it, since it was in that year
also that his marriage took place. He married on the 31st of July, Janet
Hyndford, youngest daughter of Mr Cornelius Elliot of Wolflee, and widow of
Sir John Gibson Carmichael of Skirling; and soon afterwards removed from
Ward Park, where he had previously lived, to Cumbernauld House.
Although the kennels at
Linlithgow still continued to be occupied from time to time, others at
Laurieston, near Falkirk, were also used, probably with the view of having
the hounds nearer Cumbernauld; but as Laurieston is distant from Cumbernauld
about eleven miles by road, the arrangement does not appear to have been a
very convenient one for the master. Allusion has already been made to the
fact that what was evidently the Linlithgow and Stirlingshire pack was
advertised' to be disposed of by public sale at this period. Such a step had
most likely been decided upon in connection with the change in the manage-
merit, yet it would seem that eventually the pack was not disposed of in
this way, but was parted with privately to Lord Elphinstone; for the only
reference to any sale of hounds at this time is contained in an entry in the
accounts, of date the 14th of February 1807, which shows that the Hunt
received credit for the sum of £104, 7s. as the price of "Hounds and others"
sold to his lordship. Such a sum could hardly have been a full price, even
in those days, for a pack of fox-hounds consisting of from twenty to thirty
couples, but as there would then almost certainly be considerable difficulty
in effecting satisfactorily the sale of a pack whose kennel was situated so
far north, the Hunt would no doubt be glad to accept a nominal sum as its
value, more especially when it was known that the hounds were to remain in
the country.
Lord Elphinstone had been in
office but a year when he was joined in the management by Mr George Ramsay
of Barnton, the only surviving son of Mr William Ramsay of Barnton, banker
in Edinburgh, one of the directors of the Royal Bank of Scotland. Mr George
Ramsay, who was born on the 10th of August 1767, began to hunt almost
immediately after his return to this country from Paris in the end of the
year 1789. His miniature in the Caledonian Hunt coat of the period, painted
by Inglehart about three years later, is reproduced as a frontispiece to
this history, hut, unfortunately, the reproduction conveys no idea of the
beautiful colouring of the original, which, worthy of the artist's work, is
set in gold and diamonds. Mr Ramsay had married, in 1791, the Hon. Jean
Hamilton, sister of William, seventh Lord Belhaven; and after occupying
Drylaw House, near Edinburgh, for a year or two, adopted as his residence
what is now Barnton House, but what was then King's Cramond or Cramond
Regis—the Barn- ton House of those days standing almost midway between
King's Cramond and the village of Davidson's Mains. To the north - west of
Barntoun House, at the distance of about half a mile, is King's Cramond,
also belonging to Mr Ramsay. . . . Very large additions and considerable
alterations are now making to this house, which is destined for the
residence of George Ramsay, Esq., banker in Edinburgh, eldest son of William
Ramsay of Barntoun."
In joining Lord Elphinstone
in the management, Mr Ramsay formed that connection between his family and
the Hunt which was to last so long, and to prove so satisfactory. He and
Lord Elphinstone were nearly the same age. They had met one another in the
hunting-field as well as on other occasions,—they were both members of the
Caledonian Hunt and were at this time on terms of considerable intimacy,
fostered no doubt by a mutual love of the chase. The picture of "The Death
of the Fox," painted by Alexander Nasmyth, probably about the year 1795,
portrays both of them. Mr Ramsay has jumped from his horse and has taken the
fox from the hounds, while Lord Elphinstone is pointing backwards, possibly
explaining that the huntsman is just coming up, or that another fox has been
viewed stealing away. The figures of the men, the landscape, and the trees,
are beautifully painted; the fox and the hounds also are natural, but the
horses seem to have been the victims of a fashion, which, although now and
for long departed from, was common at one time,—they appear to have been
crop-eared.
Although Lord Elphinstone and
Mr Ramsay were associated in the management, it is clear that the latter
undertook the more active part, and early in the summer of 1807 he began to
defray much of the current expense of the Hunt, the huntsman receiving from
him the funds which were required to meet his disbursements. Burton had
left, and was succeeded by Thomas Granger, previously Mr Ramsay's groom, who
was born oil 12th of Mardi 1765, and was therefore at this time in his
forty-third year. A granddaughter of his states that he was a very shy,
retiring man; nevertheless he pleased every one by his civility and
good-humour, gave great satisfaction as huntsrnan, and in course of time
received clue recognition of his ability in that capacity. The whippers-in
were John Hislop, who remained in the service of the Hunt for three seasons
(1806 - 1808), and James Carter. The latter, who stayed one season only, was
Granger's nephew, and son and brother respectively of the Thomas and William
Carter, who are represented as huntsman and whipper-in in the picture of Sir
Mark Masterman Sykes' Fox-Hounds breaking covert, painted by H. B. Chalon,
in 1821.
The area hunted at this time
was an extensive one, and from Barnton and Corstorphine in Mid- Lothian on
the east, the country proper stretched away through the counties of
Linlithgow and Stirling to Cumbernauld in Dumbartonshire on the west, and
almost to Dunblane in Perthshire on the north-west; besides which the
district around Hamilton and Wishaw, reaching from Lanark on the south-east
to Coatbridge on north-west, was hunted for a short period in the spring of
the year, from Hamilton. The Druid relates that Mr Ramsay was wont to ride
from Barnton to Hamilton, hunt all clay and be back again at night by
changing hacks at Cumbernauld. In order to have done so he must have risen
early and retired to rest late, and when, from a measurement of the Ordnance
Survey map, it is ascertained that the distance as the crow flies from
Barnton to Cumbernauld and thence to Hamilton is all but forty miles, it is
obvious that he must have traversed at least eighty miles besides hunting,—a
performance which can only be described as wonderful. But Mr Ramsay, who
loved hunting with his whole heart, would no doubt consider such a journey
and the consequent bodily fatigue merely as the means to an end, and reckon
these lightly so long as that end was attained.
There has been preserved a
slim little volume, which, although unpretentious in appearance, possesses
much that is of interest, since it contains the first records of sport. It
is Mr Ramsay's hunting diary, and in its pages are to be found a brief
account of each day's doings in the field, the names of his hunters, and
frequent notes of his weight. The diary, which is forcibly expressed —the
present tense being used almost throughout in describing the events which
occurred-is so early in date and gives so much information in regard to the
country hunted, that it has been thought desirable to reproduce it. Those
therefore who care to read it will find it printed as an Appendix' to these
pages. The following are among the entries :-
1807. Dec. 14. Drumshoreland
muir. Fox went away (while Tom and the hounds were in the large whin) as
hard as possible, through Houston wood, over Dechmont, Bangour, cross the
Glasgow road three miles west Uphall, kill him about a mile to the north of
the road. Restless, Whalebone, Paddy, B. mare. George Ramsay's horse nearly
dead in the field.
Dec. 17. Find a brace at
Duntarvie, run through Hopeton wood, by Mid-up, Hopeton House, Dalmeny toun,
Munch hill, to the sea east of Luchold, along the sea shore to the Halls,
cross the road top of Halls brae, and right away back, kill near the garden
at Hopeton House, cold hunting, hounds remarkably steady. Restless,
Goldfinder, Mr B.—grey horse.
Dec. 26. Saturday. Meet at 12
mile stone, find opposite Sir James Daiziel's, run to the 12 mile stone
covers, west by Phillipstone loch, and south over Binnie Craig where he was
headed and turned north, kill him a little south of Dolphiiiton. Ploughboy,
Whalebone, Mr B.—grey horse.
1808. Jan. 2. Find at
Torphichen bridge—a brace,—instantly get hounds together, run south of Wall-
house, turn north to Bowden, much running in the cover, run a fox towards
Muiravonside, cross the water, bothered with Livingstone's barriers, return
to Bowden, find again, run towards Geul. Ferrier's, through Dr Seton's3 near
the new manse south of Litligow, turn over the hill west of lie- carton,
down through the cover over Binnie craig, kill south of Binnie House. Murray
I and myself only up with the hounds, having gone round south side of Cockle
Roy; famous run. Whalebone, Murray his old horse. Cavendish at a standstill,
old Paddy, grey horse.
1808. Jan. 19, Torphichen
bridge. Find outside of the cover, run west and back again! to Torphichen
town by Walihouse, thro' the cover again to Bowden,—three foxes at least on
foot—one goes away from east end of Bowderi over Cockle Roy, south towards
Bathgate, hounds split, Elphinstone and I follow some hounds east as far as
TJphall, - he goes home, and I come to K. Cd. P. Boy, Goldfiuder, Mr
B.—grey. Lord E.—chestnut Star.
Mar. 5. Find at Drumshoreland
muir, run north to Winchburgh,—hounds streaming alon(,,—lose hinii. Try at
Sir James DalzielI Phillipstone mill, &c. Find in a small covert south of
three mile town, run east and then north to near 12 mile stone covers, turn
short south, cross the Riccarton road, by Binny House, south of the craig to
iliccarton cover, through the south side of it, over the hill west and
south, kill at Silver Craigs lime works. Restless, Whalebone, Paddy, B.
mare, Ld. E.—Star, not up. A famous run, Murray, Louis Ferrier, farmer
Duncan, come up immediately. Hislop and myself first.. Granger not far
behind. Horses all tired.
1808. Mar. 14. Cockle Roy,
Bowden, Mr Ferrier's. Find south of Bowden, run through Bowden, by
Muiravonside, west, and kill near the west end of Mr Livingstone's young
cover in the gill. Ploughboy, Major, Mr B.— mare. A famous run—the fox got
up at view and ran through several fields without ever breaking view.
Oct. 1. Find at Bonny Hill
two foxes. A number of [hounds] tumble into an iron-stone pit. Lamb- ton,
Cruiser, Herdsman, and Strenuous killed. No sport, not out.
1809. Feb. 23. Try Ravelrig—round
cover under it, find at Druinshoreland, fox stole away from north-east
corner large field, run across main lane to the House of Ainondell, by
Illiston, Kilpunt, west of Newliston and Humbie, to Dnddingstone wood,
Duntarvie, and to ground Hopeton wood—famous run. Large field,—Huutly,
Dalhousie, MI'Lean, Wallace," Murray, Binning, Davie M'Dowall, Hounds behave
uncommonly well.
Feb. 25. Riccarton. Find at
upper end, run east and down the road to north end of cover, right over the
hill, west of cover, along the belt north to lime quarries, over Cockle Roy,
Bowden, down to Bo'ness road, kill in belt west of Beilside, right-hand side
of lane to Bowden.—Famous run.
Besides Mr Ramsay's diary
there exists another relic of this period in the shape of Granger's
disbursement book,' and it is fortunate that this has been cared for,
because, with the information which it affords, it is possible to form an
almost accurate idea of the cost of the establishment a hundred years ago.
It shows that through Granger's hands passed considerable sums of money -
the whole expenses connected with the kennel and stable, as well as the
wages and board-wages of the Hunt servants,—and from it the statement on the
three following pages has been compiled.
Apparently the only items
connected with the maintenance of the establishment which were not paid
through Granger were the rent of the kennels at Linlithgow,—there is no
evidence of any rent having been paid for those at Laurieston,the taxes on
the servants, hounds and horses, and the cost of the servants' clothes. The
rent of the kennels at Linlithgow was £3, 3s., the taxes amounted in the
year 1806 to £33, 8s. 8d., and the cost of the servants' clothes may be
reasonably estimated at £30. By halving the total of the disbursements and
adding these figures to the result, it would seem that the annual cost
slightly exceeded £800, which, having regard to the high
prices prevalent at that
time, was not extravagant for the maintenance of a pack of fox-hounds
hunting three and occasionally four days a-week. But the expense of the
short visit to Lanarkshire was comparatively great; and had the hounds been
able to hunt that district from their own kennel, or had they remained in
the home country instead, a considerable saving would have been effected.
The Hunt had now reached the
zenith of its fame, and many sportsmen besides those immediately connected
with the counties of Linlithgow and Stirling were either hunting with or
subscribing to the hounds. In addition to Lord Elphinstone and Mr Ramsay,
there were the Earl of Hopetoun and his brothers the Hon. John Hope and the
Hon. Alexander Hope, the Duke of Montrose, Lord Primrose and his brother the
lion. F. W. Primrose, the Marquis of Douglas, afterwards Duke of Hamilton,
and his brother Lord Archibald Hamilton, Lord Keith and Captain, afterwards
Admiral, the Hon. Charles Elphinstone Fleeining—uncle and brother
respectively of Lord Elphinstone—Mr John Smellie, Mr James Graham of
Underwood, Mr Thomas Graham of Airth, the Earl of Dalhousie, Mr James Watson
of Saughton, Major G. Hamilton Dundas of Duddingston, Mr William Macdowall
of Castle Semple and his son Captain David Macclowall, R.N., Sir John Hope
of Craighall, Mr James J. Cadell of Grange, Colonel F. Simpson of Plean, M
James M. Wallace of Kelly, Mr H. D. Erskine, afterwards Earl of Buchan, son
of the Hon. Henry Erskine of Amondell Dean of the Faculty of Advocates, and
nephew of the Lord Chancellor, Mr James Bruce of Kinnaird, Mr Louis H.
Ferrier, younger of Belsyde, Mr D. Monro Binning of Auchenbowie, the Hon.
George Abercromby, afterwards Lord Abercromby, Mr William Murray, younger of
Polmaise, Sir James Dalyell of The Binns, and Captain Robert Dalyell, Mr
Michael Nicolson of Carnock, Mr James Russel of Woodside, the Marquis of
Huntly, Major Maclean of Ardgour, Captain the Hon. A. Murray, Mr William
Maxwell of Carriden, General Maxwell, Colonel Maxwell, Mr Thomas Livingstone
of Park- hall, and Mr James Wilkie of Foulden; also, within the next few
years, Sir James Riddell of Mountriddell, Captain, afterwards Admiral,
William Johnstone Hope, R.N., Sir Charles Edmonstone of Duntreath, Mr James
J. Elope Vere of Blackwood and Craigiehall, and Sir Michael Shaw Stewart of
Greenock.
At this time a race meeting
was held at Stirling annually in the autumn of the year, and with such
stewards as the Duke of Montrose, Lord Primrose, Lord Kinnoull, Lord Doune,
the Hon. George Abercromby, Lord Elphinstone, and Mr Ramsay, and with the
hounds, by arrangement, hunting the surrounding country, the meeting was no
doubt a popular one. The Linlithgow and Stirlingshire Hunt Stakes of five
guineas each for hunters bond fide the property of the members qualified in
terms of the articles" formed a prominent event, and with ordinaries daily,
and balls in the evening, the county town was probably created a centre of
attraction, full, to overflowing, of the beauty, sportsmen, and fashion of
the day. In the year 1808, the hunt Stakes being run for on the 12th of
October, the hounds were at Stirling for a fortnight, meeting at Sauchie,
Dunmore Park, Hunters' Folly, Denovan, Keir, &c. The Hunt staff remained the
same as in the previous season, except that Christopher Scott had succeeded
Carter as second whipper-in. Scott, who at a later period became huntsman
under Mr Ramsay's son, Mr W. R. Ramsay, had been, as a lad, in the stables
of Colonel Hamilton of Pencaitland in East Lothian. Wishing to get into hunt
service, he obtained permission to see Mr Baird of Newbyth, who was in want
of a whipper-in; but it turned out that the day before he did so the place
was promised to Will Williamson, afterwards huntsman to the Duke of
Buecleuch, and all that Mr Baird could do for him was to send him on to Lord
Elphinstone, who was then looking out for a whipper-in for Lord Kintore.
Scott accordingly proceeded to Ward Park, Cumnbernauld, and there saw Lord
Elphinstone, who had with him Mr Ramsay. "Can you holloa?" said Lord
Elphinstone; and on Scott doing so to some purpose, "That will do; go to
Keith Hall and give this letter to Lord Kintore." Scott's further journey
had a successful issue, for shortly after his arrival at Keith Hall he was
engaged by Lord Kintore - he and Will Williamson thus being entered to
hounds in the same year.
The commencement of the
season of 1809 saw Lord Elphinstone and Mr Ramsay still at the head of
affairs, with Granger as huntsman. Hislop, however, had left, Scott had been
promoted to fill his place, and Thomas Luck had been engaged as second
whipper-in. Although the subscriptions had slightly fallen off, the Hunt was
still popular, and consequently prosperous, and its horizon was as yet
bright and unclouded; but trouble was in store, and a storm was gathering,
which was destined to shake the old Flunt to its foundations. The most
interesting part of Mr Ramsay's diary ends on the 4th of March 1809, for the
later entries contain little more than the dates of the hunting days, the
fixtures, and the number of foxes killed and run to ground. These, however,
show that hunting began on the 7th of October (1809), and that up to the 6th
of January following there had been thirty-six hunting days in which tell of
foxes were killed, and fourteen and a half brace run to ground. The notes of
Mr Ramsay's weight, already referred to, form a sad record of failing
health, seeing that between the 5th of February 1806 and the 22nd of January
1810, two days before his death, his weight had steadily dropped from 17 st.
to 12 st. 5 lb. In the frequency of these weighings too—they seem to have
taken place at intervals of about a week—and from the fact that they were
made under a variety of circumstances,—some of them with " hunting cap,
whip, &c" others in "boots and thick before breakfast.," and others again in
"flannel gown, &c.," —may be read no little anxiety as to the story which
the scales would tell, and a consciousness of the approaching end,—an event
which may have been hastened by those long rides to and from hunting, and by
the overtaxing of a constitution not naturally of the strongest. On the 24th
of January 1810 within a few days of the last entry in his diary, and within
two of the last weighing, Mr Ramsay's death occurred. The storm had gathered
and burst, and the Hunt had sustained an irreparable loss, not only of a
master, but also of a liberal and steady supporter, who had spared neither
money nor time in bringing it to the acme of perfection.
"Oh breathe not his name! the
initials are enough to call tears into the eyes, and sighs from the feeling
bosoms of those that still live, who knew him ; in whose memories he still
lives, and who followed him to an untimely grave. At the I)erforluallce of
these last sorrowful duties to that highly respected and valued friend and
brother sportsman, those wept like children, who were 'albeit unused to the
melting mood,' and their honest and unfeigned grief spoke more strongly the
value of him they had lost, than could 'storied urns or animated busts"' . .
. " His honest blunt kindness - his unsophisticated liberality of sentiment,
endeared him equally to his co-temporary friends, and to the hearts of the
youthful sportsmen whom he cheered on to the chase 'with hand and voice to
point the winding way' " . . . " As an honest man, as a steady friend, as a
liberal and generous sportsman—' take him for all in all, we shall not soon
look upon his like again.' "
That Mr Ramsay was a
sportsman of the best type, and loved hunting for its own sake, cannot be
doubted, and the frequent allusions to the hounds which his diary contains,
and the use of such expressions as "hounds remarkably steady," "instantly
get hounds together," "hounds streaming along," "hounds behave uncommonly
well," &c., show the lively interest which he displayed in them and their
work. His strong attachment to the Hunt, and his sincere desire for its
wellbeing, also, are patent in the fact that in the year of his death, and
in those which followed until hunting in the country was temporarily
discontinued, his representatives contributed to its funds a sum of no less
than £300 annually, in consequence of which he may be said to have been the
mainstay of its existence even after his death had taken place. His remains
having been laid to rest in the family vault under the old church at Cramond,
it behoved the members of the Hunt to consider how affairs were to be
carried on; for Lord Elphinstone had not latterly taken an active part in
the management. Therefore were they summoned to an extra-ordinary meeting at
Linlithgow on Monday the 19th of February. No record of what took place on
that occasion has been preserved, but it would seem that Lord Elphinstone
agreed to continue to act as master, either alone or in conjunction with Mr
William Murray, younger of Polmaise, until the close of the season, when he
should be relieved by Mr Murray. A few days after this meeting, Mr Ramsay's
hunters were sold, and Ploughboy and Restless, who had carried their owner
through many a "famous run," Cato, Charmer, Star, Bempton, Catchem, Honest
Harry, Archer, Star- gazer and Jenny Nettles all mentioned in his diary -
besides a number of young ones, brood mares, foals, and hacks were disposed
of at the hammer: and to have seen the string wending its way from King's
Cramond to the place of sale Wordsworth's Repository, Nottingham Place,
Edinburgh—must have been an imposing and to his friends a sorrowful
spectacle.
Although Lord Elphinstone
severed his official connection with the Hunt at the end of the season of
1809, a settlement of his claims upon it was not eflected until the 30th of
January 1811, when Mr Boyd, the secretary and treasurer, travelled to
Edinburgh for the purpose, and paid over to him the sum of £307, 18s. as the
value of the horses. No mention, however, is made of the hounds, and it is
possible that his lordship either formally presented them to the Hunt on his
resignation, or eventually waived his claim to them. Notwithstanding his
retirement he continued to subscribe to the Hunt funds up to the time of his
death, although it would seem that he now began to keep hounds of his own,
and engaged Christopher Scott as his whipper-in, since Scott is referred to
in the 'Sporting Magazine' as "a veteran, who has whipped to or hunted every
pack in Scotland, but the Duke's, in his day, and some that are not now in
force,—Lord Elphinstone's for one," and since he, Scott, is represented as
whipper-in in a picture of Lord Elphinstone and his hounds, painted by
Douglas about this time.' This picture, fi'om which the portrait of Lord
Elphinstoiie has been repro- duced, was executed in duplicate, one copy
being in the possession of the present Lord Elphinstone at Carberry Tower,
Mid-Lothian, and the other in that of Colonel Anstruther at Charleton,
Fife.3 Lord Elphinstone died at Bath in May 1813, and was buried at the
Abbey there. He was succeeded in the title by his only son.
Mr Murray, who assumed the
control in 1810, was the eldest son of Mr William Murray of Touchadam and
Polmaise in Stirlingshire, and was born on the 6th of July 1773. In 1799 he
married Miss Anne Maxwell, daughter of Sir William Maxwell of Monreith, and
went to live at Muiravonside, at that time called "The Neuk." He was a
member of the Caledonian Hunt, a deputy lieutenant for the county of
Stirling, and a lieutenant-colonel of yeomanry, in consequence of which he
is often alluded to, and was perhaps better known, as Colonel Murray. At the
end of his first season, Granger, whose services as huntsman had been
retained, had been in office for four years. Having shown much good sport,
and proved himself worthy of the trust reposed in him, he was presented with
a testimonial in the shape of a silver cup, suitably inscribed ' while two
years later (1813) his portrait with a few of his favourite hounds Frampton,
Racer, Ferryman, Damper, and Lifter - was painted by Douglas, the picture
being afterwards engraved.
As time passed, the cost of
the establishment yearly became greater, added to which various other
sources of expense presented themselves. The renting of coverts was not
unusual or at least unknown, while the repairing of fences damaged and the
compensating of farmers and tenants for loss sustained by and trouble caused
to them, were matters which, then as now, required attention. To make ends
meet was therefore no easy matter, and in the year 1810, in response to an
appeal, many of the members contributed additional sums, so that the total
subscription received amounted to no less than £1250, and that at a time
when, although rents were high, taxes were high also, and war prices
prevailed. During nearly the whole of the period embraced in this chapter
the Continent had been in a state of considerable commotion, and while the
Hunt was pursuing the more or less even tenor of its way at home, the
attention of all men was directed to the Spanish Peninsula. Thither a large
number of British troops had been sent in 1808 under the command of Sir
Arthur Wellesley for the purpose of thwarting the movements of Napoleon, who
had found a pretext for interfering in the affairs of Spain. The battles of
Vimiera, Corunna, and Talavera had been fought and won, and now, in the year
1810, came a temporary cessation of hostilities, and the troops were retired
within the lines of Torres Vedras. Great matters and small are not
infrequently interwoven, and during this period of inactivity, a pack of
British foxhounds, hunted by a British huntsman, pursued its quarry on
Spanish soil. Through the sport shown by this pack and its huntsman—the
famous Tom Crane, who had been appointed to the post by the "Iron Duke"
himself—many clays, which would otherwise have proved almost unendurable,
were passed pleasantly by the soldiers who joined ill chase, hardships were
made to appear less hard, and man and horse were braced and fitted for the
important work yet to be accomplished.
But before the campaign had
been brought to a conclusion, before the season of 1813 had drawn to a close
at home, it was foreseen that it would be impossible to maintain the old
Hunt much longer. Foxes had become scarce, and although this was the only
reason assigned for the breaking- up of the establishment, others may be
found in the death of Mr Ramsay, with whom, it is stated, expired the spirit
and the sinews of the Hunt, and in the war in the Peninsula, owing to which
probably many of those who might otherwise have been following the chase at
home, were serving their country abroad.
The accounts end on the 31st
of December 1813, when, after having been "carefully gone over and
examined," and "narrowly compared with the vouchers thereof," they are
docqueted and signed as in previous years by Mr Louis Ferrier. They close
with a balance of £136, 2s. 11d. due to the treasurer, Mr Boyd, but from an
examination of them it appears that there was then at the credit of the Hunt
with "the Falkirk Bank," a sum more than sufficient to meet this deficiency.
Hunting, however, seems to have been continued well into the spring of the
following year, for the sale of the bounds and horses was not advertised to
take place until the month of April (1814).
Although the Hunt had now
ceased to exist except as a club, it was destined to be resurrected at no
very distant date, a circumstance which, could he have survived to see it,
would doubtless have rejoiced Mr Ramsay, in whose thoughts the hunting of
the country had filled so large a place. Meantime, he was not forgotten, and
the members, still meeting at Linlithgow and at Stirling, did drink in
solemn silence the memory of him whose loss was a serious one for all who
had the pleasure of knowing him." Meantime also—between the temporary
cessation of the Hunt and its revival— the country did not long remain
vacant, and after the lapse of a short interval, it was wakened by the music
of a pack of fox-hounds, which at that time was, as it is at the present
day, second to none in Scotland, controlled by a sportsman of renown, and
guided by a huntsman of considerable celebrity. |
