DOI Page / Citation link:
https://doi.org/10.11588/diglit.70301#0233
LIFE OF CAPTAIN BARCLAY.
207
Beauchamp in the county of Angus. During the season 1810-
11, he frequently went from Ury to Turriff, a distance of fifty-
one miles, where he arrived to breakfast. He attended the
pack to cover, often fifteen miles from the kennel, and follow-
ed the hounds through all the windings of the chase for twenty
or twenty-five miles farther. He returned with the dogs to
the kennel, and after taking refreshment proceeded to Ury,
where he generally arrived before eleven at night. These long
journies he generally performed twice a week, and the dis-
tance on the average was from one hundred and thirty to one
hundred and fifty miles, which he accomplished in about
twenty-one hours. His reluctance to live in a country
tavern, and anxiety to attend to his affairs at home, were
the motives that induced him to take these laborious
rides. A house was afterwards fitted up for his accommoda-
tion at Turriff; he then seldom returned home after the
chase, but frequently left Ury in the morning of the day on
which he hunted. During the winter of 1811, while the
pack was stationed at Beauchamp, he always left Ury in the
morning, and returned to dinner after hunting. The distance
is thirty-three miles, which, when doubled and added to the
average distance to the cover, and the length of the chase was
about one hundred miles. He commonly left Ury about five
in the morning, and returned by five in the afternoon. These,
journies he performed thrice a week for nine weeks, and
considered them only moderate exercise. Although fre-
quently drenched with rain, he seldom shifted his clothes,
experiencing no inconvenience from the wetness. To a man
thus inured to fatigue and the vicissitudes of the weather,
circumstances which would incommode or even injure most
people are trivial and insignificant. Heedless of the changes
of the weather and of the seasons, Captain Barclay pursues
his plans, whether of business or of pleasure, with a persever-
ance that nothing is capable of shaking.
We shall conclude our account of this celebrated pedestrian
with the following Chronological Table of his performances.
207
Beauchamp in the county of Angus. During the season 1810-
11, he frequently went from Ury to Turriff, a distance of fifty-
one miles, where he arrived to breakfast. He attended the
pack to cover, often fifteen miles from the kennel, and follow-
ed the hounds through all the windings of the chase for twenty
or twenty-five miles farther. He returned with the dogs to
the kennel, and after taking refreshment proceeded to Ury,
where he generally arrived before eleven at night. These long
journies he generally performed twice a week, and the dis-
tance on the average was from one hundred and thirty to one
hundred and fifty miles, which he accomplished in about
twenty-one hours. His reluctance to live in a country
tavern, and anxiety to attend to his affairs at home, were
the motives that induced him to take these laborious
rides. A house was afterwards fitted up for his accommoda-
tion at Turriff; he then seldom returned home after the
chase, but frequently left Ury in the morning of the day on
which he hunted. During the winter of 1811, while the
pack was stationed at Beauchamp, he always left Ury in the
morning, and returned to dinner after hunting. The distance
is thirty-three miles, which, when doubled and added to the
average distance to the cover, and the length of the chase was
about one hundred miles. He commonly left Ury about five
in the morning, and returned by five in the afternoon. These,
journies he performed thrice a week for nine weeks, and
considered them only moderate exercise. Although fre-
quently drenched with rain, he seldom shifted his clothes,
experiencing no inconvenience from the wetness. To a man
thus inured to fatigue and the vicissitudes of the weather,
circumstances which would incommode or even injure most
people are trivial and insignificant. Heedless of the changes
of the weather and of the seasons, Captain Barclay pursues
his plans, whether of business or of pleasure, with a persever-
ance that nothing is capable of shaking.
We shall conclude our account of this celebrated pedestrian
with the following Chronological Table of his performances.