THE CHACE. 
The exact Stultz-like fit of his coat, his superlatively 
well-cleaned leather breeches and boots, and the generally 
apparent high breeding of the man, can seldom be 
matched elsewhere ; and the most cautious sceptic on 
such points would satisfy himself of this fact at one single 
inspection. 
Before Leicestershire acquired its present ascendant 
rank in the scale of sport, it was hunted by what were 
called the Noel hounds, which afterwards became the 
property of the Lonsdale family ; but, in those early 
days, this county wore, to the eye of a sportsman, a very 
different appearance from that which it now presents. 
A great portion of the land was unenclosed ; neither 
was there a tenth part of the furze-covers with which it 
now abounds. The foxes, on the other hand, were 
wilder then than they are at present, and runs of longer 
duration than those of later times were, on an average, 
the result. Game was not so plentiful as it now is ; 
consequently foxes had further to travel for their usual 
provender, which trained them for runs of extraordinary 
length ; and they were wilder, from the wilder nature 
of the country in which they were bred. It was, 
however, reserved to Mr. Meynell to render famous the 
county of Leicester as a hunting country. He was, 
doubtless, the most successful sportsman of his own time, 
nor has he been surpassed by any who have trodden in 
his steps ; although it may be admitted he has had his 
equals in some departments of "the craft." It is a 
great mistake to fancy that a fool will ever make a 
