A Day With the Belvoir Foxhounds 139 



''Belvoir! neighbour to the sky 

 That with light doth deck its brows — 

 Belvoir! Art's masterpiece and nature's pride/' 



Harleian Miscellany. (A. D. 1769) 



Belvoir Castle is situated on the top of a hill rising abruptly 

 out of the great Belvoir Vale, the hill itself being a prominent 

 landmark for twenty to thirty miles in every direction. The 

 castle occupies all the level space on top of the liill, the ground 

 falling quite precipitately away on all sides. The panoramic 

 view from the castle is one of the most commanding, and for 

 rural scenery is one of the most beautiful in England. There 

 stretches in every direction a great carpet of green, divided by 

 hedge fences, or rows of stumpy willows that mark the courses 

 of creeks and brooklets. Everywhere scattered over this most 

 fertile vale are great, spreading forest trees, clumps of planted 

 game coverts, or "spinnies" of from one to three acres in 

 extent. The hill on which the castle stands has been left a 

 natural forest, through which winding carriage drives and 

 vine-covered walks lead to the castle. High as these forest 

 trees are, the noble castle caps the hill with towering turrets, 

 parajDets, and gables that rise far above them — a magnificent 

 monument to the powerful family who in the old feudal days 

 went to battle with their own followers and an armed troop 

 of cavaliers who dwelt under the same roof. 



It is not the purpose of tliis chapter to devote more space 

 to this most beautiful of all English castles, nor to dwell on the 

 wonderful paintings, tapestry, relics, and souvenirs of the 

 noble dukes who have lived there. 



"To carry the horn for the Belvoir," says Mr. Cuthbert 

 Bradley in his charming book, "Hunting Reminiscences of 

 Frank Gillard," "has always been considered the topmost rung 

 in the ladder of fame, by all the professional talent." This book 



