We  should  state,  however,  that  the  deep  interest  which  the  Mar-
quis has  ever  taken  in  politics  made  hunting  and  the  stud  second-
ary considerations  ;  and  the  rapidity  and  seeming  carelessness
with  which  preparations  were  made  for  a  visit  to  Melton  or  The
Shires  were  quite  appalling,  and  aff'orded  a  remarkable  contrast
to  the  practice  of  the  present,  when  Mason,  Newcombe,  Darby,
and  Sheward  require  many  weeks'  notice  before  collecting  a  Lei-
cestershire stud  for  fastidious  gentlemen.  On  one  day  the  Marquis
would  appear  on  a  plain,  hunting-like  horse,  on  the  next  on  a
weedy  thoroughbred,  on  the  third  on  an  ancient  far  advanced  in
his  teens,  or  very  groggy  on  his  legs,  and  perhaps  a  couple  of
awkward  horses  to  ride  completed  the  stud.  From  Melton  they
were  then  perhaps  transported  to  do  duty  over  the  stone  walls  in
Galway,  or  among  the  intricate  fences  in  Kilkenny  or  Kildare.
"  *  It  seemed  a  perfect  matter  of  indifi'erence  to  him  what  he
rode,  as  the  following  anecdote  will  illustrate.  Passing  through
Dublin,  he  called  on  a  well-known  friend  of  every  sportsman.
