10 MEMORIES OF THE SHIRES 



made, and every year Melton came out with some 

 startling innovation, that in the ages of the old 

 school was more suitable for a ballroom than the 

 hunting-field. 



Mr. Dale, in his very interesting work, the 

 Belvoir Hunt, makes a statement which, with all 

 due deference to him, I do not consider is quite 

 accurate. He tells us at the beginning of the 

 century " leathers " were not worn at Melton, and 

 were first introduced from Cheshire. I cannot 

 conceive the smart Meltonian taking any hints in 

 dress from such an out-of-the-way place. The 

 majority of such who hunted hounds or who were 

 not particular about their appearance, would prob- 

 ably find woollen cord most serviceable, but it must 

 be remembered buckskin breeches were articles of 

 everyday apparel with those who could afford them. 

 In the country breeches and boots were the regular 

 costume, and no self-respecting squire dressed 

 otherwise except on Sundays or when he went to 

 town. At what exact period whitened buckskins 

 were first worn a-hunting must remain a matter for 

 conjecture, but we know they were used in their 

 natural state for riding long before the fox was an 

 honoured beast of chase. 



There is another small matter on which I dis- 

 agree with Mr. Dale. In speaking of the early 

 history of the Quorn, he says that the resident 

 gentry of that county did not hunt, and that there- 

 fore the pack had not the advantage of local support. 

 There were in the Quorn territory at the beginning 

 of the century quite as large a proportion of hunting 

 landowners as could be found in any other district, 

 but they would, of course, appear in a minority. 



