WITH THE BELVOIR 227 



seasons ; the constant change on to new mounts in 



the full vigour of life has probably reduced the 



average of falls taken by the Belvoir hunt staff to 



a minimum. The first whipper-in, Jack Hewitt, 



is a short man and an extraordinarily good hunt 



servant, always there to put hounds to his chief 



with the least fuss and bother; Jack or Desborough 



may be his mount, and he has that happy knack of 



being in the right place to view a fox or give a 



lead. Cast in the mould of a horseman, long and 



light, Herbert Norman, the 



second whipper-in, has the 



gift of hands and seat to 



please the most critical eye. 



We may talk of pipe -clay 



and button-drill for exactness, 



but the way the whole of the 



Belvoir hunt-staff wear their 



uniform, even to the black- m^.^v. / mm \', 



headed tie-pm, is a revele- 



tion of workmanlike smartness, ' ^^' ^"^^"'^ ^" 



the effect of completeness leaving nothing to be 



desired. 



Amongst the large crowd assembling are Sir 

 Gilbert and Lady Greenall and their two smart boys 

 on ponies ; whilst from Belvoir Castle are three of the 

 Duke of Rutland's daughters, Ladies Marjorie, 

 Violet, and Diana Manners, amongst the keenest 

 when hounds run, with Lord Robert Manners their 

 uncle ; Mr. Edward Griffith, riding a long-tailed 

 grey horse that looks like sixteen stone on the grass, 

 is there to undertake the arduous duties of field- 

 master, with Mrs. Griffith on a chestnut, the Duchess 

 of Newcastle, the Countess of Wilton, and Mr. A. V. 

 Pryor, Captain Burns-Hartopp, ex-master of the 

 Quorn, and Mrs. Burns-Hartopp, Miss Mary Hartopp, 



