2 A YEAR OF SPORT AND NATURAL HISTORY. 



Dorsetshire ; and the fox-hunters of many countries that are 

 classed as " provincial " refuse to admit the superiority of the 

 shires in any point worthy to command the admiration of true 

 sportsmen. There is one hunt in the West certainly not less 

 distinguished for historic associations or the social celebrity of 

 those who assemble at its fixtures than any in the Midlands, 

 The " blue and bluff " of Badminton must be known to fame all 

 the world over ; Dukes of Beaufort for many generations have 

 been acknowledged leaders in the hunting world, and the " badger- 

 pied beauties " as they skim over the open in full chorus, or 

 spread like a rocket to recover the lost scent for themselves or 

 stoop to it with a joyous whimper after Lord Worcester has lifted 

 them forward in one of his masterly casts, make a picture that 

 might well impress the imagination of the coldest critics. Their 

 followers are to be numbered by hundreds, and yet sport with 

 them differs essentially from that of the shires. The Warwick- 

 shire hounds are of the best also, and can go fast enough, as 

 every man must confess who ever tried to hold his own with them, 

 when Lord Willoughby cheered " the dappled darlings " over the 

 strongly-fenced pastures of Shuckburgh Vale. This hunt is 

 nearest to the shires geographically and in methods of sport, 

 yet fashion has not admitted it to membership of the guild, pro- 

 bably because Lord Willoughby though he loves pace no less than 

 the hottest blooded Meltonian will be master of his own pack, 

 and will not let a hard-riding field dictate terms to him. 



It may be granted that all hounds go fast enough at times to 

 run clean away from horsemen, but a brilliant episode of this kind 

 is not quite what one means by pace in the Meltonian sense, 

 which depends rather less on scent than on system. A certain 



