THE LIFE OF A SPORTSMAN 



for the moment, in a pursuit in which he had just commenced 

 with such success, and he walked away with a somewhat sullen 

 step, to communicate the sad tidings to Jem Perren. ' Bless 

 me,' said Jem ; ' I wish that parson was in the place he talks 

 so much about in church ; he'll be the ruin of you, Master 

 Francis. I heard my father say, the other day, that he scolded 

 him for shooting jays, although the gardener says they play 

 the deuce with the raspberries and cherries, and you know my 

 father wants the feathers for fly-fishing.' ' Ay,' resumed Frank ; 

 ' but never mind, Jem ; we go to Eton after midsummer, and 

 then we can get rid of his botheration, and shall be our own 

 masters in the holidays.' 



Saturday arrived : and the family at the Grange came to 

 the Abbey to dinner, and, with them, the ' lion ' out of 

 Leicestershire, whose name was Somerby, from whose con- 

 versation with his father Frank Raby anticipated a great 

 treat. Neither was it short of a treat to the father himself, 

 to contribute to the delight of his favourite son, and, according 

 to promise, he waited his coming to dessert before the subject 

 of hunting in Leicestershire commenced. We will give it in 

 detail, 



Mr. Raby. — ' Were I a fox-hunter, Mr. Somerby, I should 

 envy you who make Leicestershire your domicile.' 



Mr. Somerby. — ' It is, without doubt, the county of all others 

 in which a man may get the most hunting.' 



Mr. Raby. — ' And the best.' 



Mr. Somerby. — ' That depends on circumstances. It is a 

 mistaken notion that a good country alone can make good 

 hounds, or that Leicestershire has that peculiar privilege.' 



Mr. Raby. — ' I always thought that Leicestershire was a 

 county in which hounds had less difficulty to encounter than 

 in any other ; and that with a good scent, you are almost sure 

 to have sport, even if you do not kill your fox. By the term 

 " Leicestershire," I mean the whole extent of country within 

 reach of Melton Mowbray.' 



Mr. Som^erby. — ' You have been misinformed on these subjects, 

 Mr. Raby. It is true there are extensive tracts in the counties 

 of Leicester, Rutland, and Northampton, extremely favourable 

 to hounds, from the great prevalence of land which has been 

 under grass beyond the memory of man ; as, likewise, from the 

 prevalence of large enclosures, which often contain forty acres, 



28 



