18 The Hunting Countries of England. 



THE SOUTH WOLD.* 



Proceeding witli the Hunts of Lincolnsliire (a 

 county termed by a good liound- authority the " home 

 of the foxhound '') we may next take the South 

 Wold. If not a fashionable country^ it is at least a 

 sporting one. Perhaps^ too_, its fame suffers rather 

 than benefits from the fact of its position being in 

 such close contiguity and comparison with packs like 

 the Brocklesby, Blankney, Belvoir_, and Fitzwilliam. 

 In the maintenance of a country, the development of 

 its pack and of its resources generally, an autocracy 

 (and, more than all, an hereditary autocracy) has 

 ever been more successful than any representative 

 style of government. A country that has for genera- 

 tions been a cherished heirloom, is sure to enjoy and 

 retain a reputation, far more distinguished than any 

 " Subscription Pack/-* however highly supported, may 

 hope to become permanently possessed of. Fox- 

 hunting admits of a republic, where oligarchy cannot 

 be obtained ; but it thrives better where the reins of 

 government — and with them pride of possession and 

 system of management — are passed down from father 

 to son. Under a committee seldom, under an indi- 



* " Stanford's Railway and Hunting Map," sheet 10. 



