11 MARCH 1995, Page 27

Sir: I note that the Duchess of Devonshire (Diary, 4

March) shares the belief that John Peel had a hound called True. My understanding was that a monosyllabic name for a foxhound would be every bit as unacceptable as, say, Rondo Bosco, and that the original verse ran: Yes, I ken John Peel and Ruby too, Ranter and Ringwood, Hellman as true Michael Pickering

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