The Belvoir, 15 



often that more tlian two have to be searched in 

 succession for a find. Merry spins, pre-eminent for 

 pace, delightful in country, but too often deficient in 

 distance, are constantly witnessed from these spots. 

 Foxes from hence seldom make a wide point; men 

 know this well, and lance themselves forth with a 

 will for a flying race — while the Belvoir pack drive 

 their game with such venom that even a stout 

 fox could scarcely keep his head straight for 

 long'. 



Or, again_, you may hear the word given for Mr. 

 Burbage^s Covert or Melton Spinney^ which Mel- 

 tonians would perhaps rather see drawn than any 

 other coverts in his Grace^s Hunt — by no means on 

 account of theirpropinquity to home. Mr. Burbage^s 

 famous covert lies close beside the river Wreake, a 

 mile or so from Melton, and from it foxes have the 

 pick of some of the prettiest of the Quorn, Cottes- 

 more, and Belvoir countries — the covert being placed 

 in a loop where the boundaries of the three hunts 

 touch. By crossing the river (at the ford convenient) 

 a fox often pierces by Great Dalby into the Quorn, or 

 by Stapleford or Burrough into the Cottesmore 

 territory. From Melton Spinney a bad fox may lead 

 you a short turn over plough, or a good one take you 

 far afield over good grass right or left of Melton. 

 Either case must be conditional on your not being 

 left behind at t^lie covert, with the hundred or so who 

 invariably are, and on your horse being just bold 

 enough for the Melton brook — a little stream that a 

 polo-pony might jump without difficulty, but yet is 

 often full of the highest-priced horses in England. 



