pure them, have an intimate connexion with each other, if not with the march of intellect. Were not the hounds of our day to go so fast as they do, they would not be able to keep clear of the crowd of riders who are now mounted on horses nearly equal to the racing pace. On the other hand, as the speed of hounds has so much increased, unless their followers ride speedy, and, for the most part, thorough-bred horses, they cannot see out a run of any continuance if the scent lies well. True it is, that at the present time, every Leicestershire hunter is not thorough-bred; but what is termed the cock-tail, or half-bred horse of this day, is a very different animal from that of a hundred years back. In those days, a cross between the thorough-bred, or perhaps not quite thorough-bred, horse, and the common draught mare, was considered good enough to produce hunters equal to the speed of the hounds then used. There was not such an abundance of what may be termed the intermediate variety of the horse in the country -pretty well-bred on each side the head-which has of late years been in demand for the fast coaches of England, in which low-bred horses have no chance to live. Mares of this variety, put to thorough-bred stallions, and their produce crossed with blood, create the sort of animal that comes now under the denomination of the half-bred English hunter, or cock-tail. These are also the horses which contend for our several valuable stakes, made for horses not thorough-bred, though, when brought to the post, they are sometimes so much like race-horses in their appearance and their pace, that it would be difficult to detect the blot in their pedigree, A prejudice long existed against thorough-bred horses for the field, particularly such as had once been trained to the course; and in some quarters it still lingers. It is argued by their opponents, that the thinness of their skins makes them afraid of rough, black-thorn fences, and that they lose their speed in soft, or, what in sporting language is termed, deep ground: also, that having been accustomed from their infancy to the jockey's hand, they lean upon their bits, as when in a race, and are therefore unpleasant to ride. Such of them as have been long in training may undoubtedly be subject to these objections, and never become good and pleasant hunters; but when purchased young, and possessing strength and bone, they must have many counterbalancing advantages over the inferior-bred horse. So far from not making good leapers, the firmness of bone and muscle peculiar to this variety of the breed is prodigiously in favour of that desirable qualification. Indeed, it has been truly said of them, that they can often leap large fences when lower bred horses cannot leap smaller ones, the result of their superior wind, when put to a quick pace. Whoever Whoever wishes to see two distinct species of the horse in the most perfect state, should go to Newmarket and. Melton Mowbray -to the former for the race-horse, to the latter for the hunter. In no place upon the earth is condition attended to with so much care, or managed with such skill, as in this renowned metropolis of the fox-hunting world. Indeed, we conceive it would be use less to expect horses to live with hounds in such a country as Leicestershire, unless they were in condition to enable them to contend for a plate. Melton Mowbray generally contains from two to three hundred hunters, in the hands of the most experienced grooms England can produce the average number being ten to each sportsman residing there, although some of those who ride heavy, and rejoice in long purses, have from fourteen to twenty for their own use. The stud of the Earl of Plymouth has, for many years, exceeded the last-mentioned number. It may seem strange, that one man should, under any circumstances, need so large a number of horses solely for his personal use in the field; and it must be admitted that few countries do require it. In Leicestershire, however, the universal practice is for each sportsman to have at least two hunters in the field on the same day,-a practice found to be economical, as it is from exhaustion, the effect of long-continued severe work, that the health of horses is most injured. And when it is also borne in mind, that hounds are to be reached from Melton, Leicester, &c., every day in the week,—that one horse out of six, in every man's stud, is, upon an average, lame, or otherwise unfit for work-and that a horse should always have five days' rest after a moderate, and at least seven or eight after a severe run with hounds,-it will seem not surprising that ten or twelve hunters should be deemed an indispensable stud for a regular Leicestershire sportsman. The stables and other conveniences for hunters in the town and neighbourhood are upon a very superior scale; and the greater part of the studs remain there all the year round-though from the comparatively small quantity of arable land in the county of Leicester, and the very great demand for forage, oats and hay are always considerably dearer here than at any other place in England. The sum total of expenses attending a stud of twelve hunters at Melton, including every outgoing, is, as nearly as can be estimated, one thousand pounds per annum. In all stables, the outlay for the purchase of horses is great-at least two hundred guineas each hunter; and, in some, the annual amount of wear and tear of horse flesh is considerable. At no distant date-within almost twenty-five years-Melton Mowbray was an insignificant looking little town. It is prettily situated situated in a rich vale, through which the river Stoure passes; but had nothing an artist would have called a feature about it, except its beautiful church. But of late it has put on a very different appearance, owing to the numbers of comfortable houses which have been erected for the accommodation of its sporting visitors, who now spend not less, on an average, than 50,000l. per annum on the spot. It stands on one of the great north roads, eighteen miles from Nottingham, and fifteen from Leicester-which latter place is also become a favourite resort of sportsmen, as it is well situated for the best part of the Quorn, and Lord Lonsdale's countries, and many of the favourite covers of the Atherstone (lately better known as Lord Anson's) country can be reached from it. The following description of the Old Club at Melton Mow bray, so called in contradistinction to the New Club, some time since broken up, is given in the Sporting Magazine.' The grand feature at Melton Mowbray is the Old Club, which has been established about thirty-eight years, and owes its birth to the following circumstances:-Those distinguished sportsmen, the late Lord Forrester and Lord Delamere, (then Messrs. Forrester and Cholmondeley,) had been living for some years at Loughborough, for the purpose of hunting with Mr. Meynell, and removed thence into Melton, where they took a house, and were joined by the late Mr. Smythe Owen, of Condover Hall, Shropshire. As this house, now known as the Old Club-house, only contains four best bed-rooms, its members are restricted to that number; but the following sportsmen have, at different periods, belonged to the club:-The Hon. George Germaine, now Lord Sackville; Lords Alvanley and Brudenell; the Hon. Joshua Vanneck, now Lord Huntingfield; the Hon. Berkeley Craven; the late Sir Robert Leighton; the late Mr. Meyler; Messrs. Brommell, Vansittart, Thomas Aysheton Smith, Lindow, Langston, Maxse, Maher, Moore, Sir James Musgrave, and the present Lord Forrester the four last mentioned gentlemen forming the present club. There is something highly respectable in every thing connected with the Melton Old Club. Not only is some of the best society in England to be met with in their circle, but the members have been remarkable for living together on terms of the strictest harmony and friendship; and a sort of veneration has been paid by them to the recollection of the former members, as the following anecdotes will prove :-The same plate is now in use which was purchased when the club was established, (for there are none of the "certamina divitiarum," -no ostentatious displays at the table of the Old Club, though every thing is as good, of its kind, as a first-rate cook can produce, and the wines are of the best quality,) and even trifles are regarded with a scrupulous observance. A small print of the late Samuel Chiffney, "on Baronet," was placed against the wall by the present Lord Sackville, then Mr. Germaine, so distinguished as a most excellent sportsman, as well as a rider over a country country or a race-course,-in the latter accomplishment perhaps scarcely excelled by any gentleman jockey; and although, since it was first affixed, the room has undergone more than one papering and repairing, yet the same print, in the same frame, and on the same nail, still hangs in the same place. "The rivets were not found that joined us first, The uninitiated reader would be surprised by an enumeration of the persons of rank, wealth, and fashion, who, during months of every year, resign the comforts and elegancies of their family mansions for a small house in some town or village of Leicestershire-to the eye of any one but a sportsman, nearly the ugliest county in England ;*-nor can any foreigner visiting this country, and a sportsman in his own, fail to be greatly surprised at the magnificence of our hunting establishments, whose sole object is the fox. The kennels and stables at Quordon Hall, celebrated as the residence of the great Mr. Meynell,' and subsequently, until within the two last years, of every proprietor of the Quordon or Quorn hounds, are specially worthy his attention. The former are perhaps the most extensive at the present day in England; among the latter is one holding twenty-eight horses, so arranged, that when a spectator stands in the centre of it, his eye commands each individual animal;-which, being furnished with seats, and lighted by powerful lamps, formed a high treat to the eye of a sportsman on a winter's evening; in addition to this, there are several loose boxes and an exercise ride, as it is called, under cover, for bad weather. The usual amount of the Quorn establishment has been forty efficient hunters; and from sixty to one hundred couples of hounds. Mr. Osbaldeston, however, during his occupation of the country, had a still larger kennel,—and no wonder, for it was his custom to turn out every day in the week, weather permitting; and, after Christmas, as the * The Earl of Wilton has lately built an excellent house in the capital itself, for the accommodation of himself and his Countess,—an event hailed with pleasure by the Meltonians, as their permanent residence there will probably induce many other married amateurs to visit the place, and thereby refine its society. At Melton Lodge, within a mile of the town, the Earl and Countess of Plymouth have been domiciled for several years past. The Earl and Countess of Chesterfield, Lord and Lady Edward Thynne, and the Marquis of Worcester, are occasional residents in the town. Lords Alvanley and Rokeby keep house there together; as do Sir Harry Goodricke, Mr. Little Gilmour, and Lord Gardner; Lord Robert Grosvenor, Lord Kinnaird, Mr. White, of Parkhall, Derbyshire, with many others, too numerous to mention, are among the habitués of Melton; and, at Leicester, are to be found Lord and Lady Sarah Ingestrie, Lord and Lady Stormount, Colonel Drummond, &c. &c. day's days increased in length, he had often two packs out on the same day-a circumstance before unheard of. This gentleman, however, is insatiable in his passion for the chase; and when we think what fatigue he must have been inured to whilst hunting his own hounds six days a week, in such a county as Leicestershire, for a succession of seasons, we read with less surprise his late Herculean feat of riding fifty four-mile-heats over Newmarket heath, in the short space of eight hours, and in the face of most tempestuous weather! Four packs of fox-hounds divide this far-famed county of Leicester: namely, the Duke of Rutland's ;-the Earl of Lonsdale's; -the Atherstone,-late the Earl of Lichfield's, afterwards Sir John Gerard's, but now Mr. Applewaite's ;-and what were so long called the Quorn, now Sir Harry Goodricke's, who has built a kennel for them at Thrussinton, half way between Melton and Leicester, which situation is more in the centre of the country than Quorn. The county of Leicester, however, does not of itself find room for all these packs: parts of Rutlandshire, Lincolnshire, Nottinghamshire, and Warwickshire are also included in their beat. Our readers are doubtless aware, that such portion of a county as is hunted by any one pack of hounds is technically called their country; and of all the countries in the world, the Quorn certainly bears the bell. This superiority arises from the peculiar nature of the soil-which, being for the most part good, is highly favourable to scent; the immense proportion of grazing land in comparison with that which is ploughed; and the great size of the enclosures, many of which run to from sixty to one hundred acres each. The rarity of large woods in this part of Leicestershire is also a great recommendation to it as a hunting country; while it abounds in furze-brakes, or gorse-covers as they are termed, for the rent of which a considerable annual sum (nearly 1000l.) is paid to the owners. Independently of these, what are termed artificial covers are made with stakes, set at a certain height from the ground for the grass to grow over them; but they are very inferior to the others, being difficult for hounds to draw. The subscription to the Quorn hounds has varied from two to four thousands pounds per annum, but Sir Harry Goodricke, the present proprietor, bears the whole expense of them himself. One of the most striking features in the aspect of the chosen regions of English fox-hunting is the formidable ox-fence-rendered necessary by the difficulty of keeping fatting cattle within their pastures, during the season of the astrus or gad-fly. It consists of-first, a wide ditch, then a sturdy black-thorn hedge, and at least two yards beyond that a strong rail, about four feet high: to clear all these obstacles, from whichever side they may be approached, VOL. XLVII. NO. XCIII. Q |