14 MEMORIES OF THE SHIRES 



father's usual custom in getting from one spot to 

 another to ride straight across country. The entry 

 generally concludes with expressing satisfaction of 

 the horse's performance, and elation of having dis- 

 covered a new line. " Larking home " was also the 

 usual finish to a moderate day's sport, and on one 

 of these occasions a Meltonian challenged my father 

 to jump some particularly high rails in Lowesby 

 Park, with the result of a broken collar-bone to 

 the latter. In these days we should say serve him 

 right, but then hard riding was in its infancy, good 

 riders and good horses both being scarce, so that we 

 must not judge the youthful spirits of those times 

 by the present standard. In spite of what one hears 

 about the good sportsmen of past generations, I 

 am quite certain there are a larger proportion of men 

 now, who take an interest in the working of hounds, 

 than there ever were before. The rather stupid 

 and oft-repeated story of "what fun it would be 

 were it not for these d — d hounds I " contains a 

 sentiment with which few could agree to-day. I 

 admit there is still amongst men who hunt a lack of 

 knowledge on the details of the sport, which they 

 might easily acquire, and which would enable them 

 to appreciate a run with hounds more than they do 

 now. 



Referring again to my father's diary of 1835 I 

 find the following passage : " Talked with Hartopp 

 about fox-coverts ; the county men think of taking 

 them in their own hands, that they may have some 

 influence on the masters of hounds." The Quorn 

 country had always been hunted by strangers, and 

 they probably made their arrangements without 

 consulting the wishes of the landowners. I should 



