The Seattle post-intelligencer. [volume] (Seattle, Wash. Terr. [Wash.]) 1888-1914, 1892-02-14

- to generalize upon any
: !: :: &: !: !: !: J: 4: ! !: !: !:
xEkcA XAE people, and most of all
%AsSE3I the English, who do not
EWA show what they really
~ are: but all who have
Xt RE any familiarity with
Z>1 them and their country
DUKE OF BEAUFORT at all will agree that
they are essentially nation of sportsmen.
A witty Frenchman discerned this when
he said of the English country gentleman :
when they get up in the morning they
say, What o beautiful dayl Let US 20 and
kill something" The hunting instinct
Is as strong in them as in certain breeds
of dogs, and the so-called commercial
spirit of the age has not diminished it in
the least. On the contrary, whereas in
former times only the rural population
engaged much in field sports, NOWADAYS
the town jewellers are almost as keen after
them as the country folks. This reproach
against cockney sportsmen has long since
ceased to have any force. The present
lord mayor of London is distinguished
master of hounds, and it was only the
other day that the Fishmongers' Company,
one of the most prominent of the city
guilds, gave grand hunt dinner in their
hall at the foot of London bridge. MANY
OF the guests wore their scarlet coats. and
the whole scene, though in strange con-
trast with its immediate surroundings,
was wonderfully suggestive of the inner
life of the people.
The most notable figure at that merry
party was strikingly handsome man of
6S, with silvery hair, carefully brushed
over a noble forehead, features almost
classical in their regularity, fine, dark
eyes still full of fire; and a long
brown mustache and side whIskers, COM
bining something of the modern military
style with that of the dandy of the olden
time. He was dressed in the pink" coat
and buff vest of master of fox hounds,
set off most picturesquely by the broad
blue riband and glittering star of the Or
der of the Garter. This was Fitzroy SOM
erset, Duke of Beaufort, the most repre-
sentative sporting man in the three king
doms.
We hear great deal of talk about class
distinctions in England, and about the
animosity of one order of society against
another; but, in truth, there must always
be good understanding amongst all
classes, so long as all meet as cordially as
they do at present on the common field of
sport. There never was time when the
highest aristocracy in the land were not
the leaders in all kind of sport. The royal
family have always insisted that it should
be so, and have themselves set the ex-
ample. Some of the greatest families
take their name from the chase. The
origin of Grosvenor, the family name of
the Duke of Westminster, is gros rsaeur,
or chief huntsman, the founder of
the house of Grosvenor, having held that
position under William the Conuueror.
The present Duke of Westminster is the
most successful racing man living. and
gros reneur in every way, and the whole of
the nobility, as class, are devoted to
sport. As for the Duke of Beaufort, he is
not only famous racing man, but he is
the foremost hunting man in England,
one of the best shots, president of the
Four-in- Hand Club and himself model
whip, and q hearty and liberal patron of
every description of healthy outdoor
recreation. The Marquis of Queensberry,
q very respectable and honorable, though
somewhat eccentric nobleman, has made
speciality of the boxing ring, and all over
the world now men fight under the Mar
quis of Queensberry's rules" The Duke
of Beaufort willingly leaves the ring in
such good hands; but he has not the
smallest objection to a fair and square
mill. and like many others of the British
aristocracy, he took an active interest in
pugilism, and was good friend TO its pro-
fessors until the betting element got the
upper hand and made it too blackguardly
for real sportsmen to find satisfaction in.
He began his sporting career, as tens of
thousands of English boys do by killing
rats with terrier in his fathers stable
yard; and he has gone through every
grade of every branch of the sport, until
he has reached the highest place in each.
For more than fifty years he has hunted
the same county; and anything he does
not know about horses and hounds and
foxes is not worth learning.
1t must not be supposed that the Duke
of Beaufort has never done anything IN
his life but ride about i'll red coat, shout
ing, "Yoicks Tallyhor In his youth he
went through the regular course al Eton,
and, though he never was much OF
scholar, he showed excellent abilities and
got good education. Then he went into
the army and rose to the rank Of lleuten-
ant-colonel, displaying all those soldierly
qualities by which so many members OF
his gallant family have been distinguished.
He did not take kindly to parliamentary
life, and had not time to make any figure
fathers death in 1858 removed him
to the more congenial atmosphere of
the house of lords. But he has al
ways been a strong and active politician,
and only those who know what an
enormous influence is exercised through
sport in England can realize what an as
distance such a man is to his party. The
notion that sport is the exclusive amuse-
ment of the upper class is altogether mis-
taken. 1t may be so in continental coun-
tries, but it is certainly not so in England.
There, rich and poor alike, enter into 1t
heart and soul; and hunting particularly
is a branch of sport that all benefit by and
all are welcome to take part in. II is, of
course, the rich who bear the expense of
hunting, an expense which amounts TO
many millions of pounds a year, taking
all England into account, and the whole of
that money goes into the pockets of farm
ers, innkeepers, horsebreeders, trainers,
grooms. staDlemen. and numberless peo-
pie of still humber station. The master
of hounds is often the greatest distributor
of money throughout an extensive neigh
borhood; and the money that he distrib-
utes Is only q small part of what he and
his hounds bring to the locality. In many
parts of England where there is good hunt
ing, the visi tor is struck by the excellence
and extent of the village inns, out of all
proportion to the size of the place or the
population OF the neighborhood. If he
goes TO the stables he will find stalls for
twenty or thirty horses. and harness
rooms and servants quarters to match,
all htted up in the most perfect wav.
Perhaps in village of 800 or 400 people,
there will be accommodations for q
hundred horses and as many grooms,
which means an expenditure dur
ing the hunting season OF at least