52 The Hunting Countries of England. 



your liead must be clear, your lieart must be bold, 

 and your liorse wortliy of tbe task_, if you would 

 cross it in comfort. For a fair country there can be 

 no stiffer in England ; tliougli to compare it witli Mr. 

 Tailby^s Yale of Skeffington or with the Pytcbley 

 district of Oxenden, would be inapt, inasmuch as a 

 good man and a good horse can ride over Wellingore, 

 while no combinations of virtue will carry a rider 

 systematically to hounds over the other two. A big 

 and determined jumper you want here, and a galloper 

 too ; for the Wellingore Yale (all excellent scenting 

 ground) is still mostly grass — at all events towards 

 Leadenham and Broughton, and along under the 

 Cliff. The most common meets are Wellingore, 

 Coleby, Aubourn, Carlton-le- Moorland, and Brant 

 Broughton (which in Lincolnshire they pronounce as 

 Bruton, not as we hear it at the Leicestershire end of 

 the Yale of Belvoir). Wellingore Gorse is perhaps 

 the most famous covert in the Yale ; but there are 

 also good thorn coverts at Broughton and Aubourn, 

 and two good gorses at Coleby and Harmston). 

 From Coleby Gorse two years ago hounds scored an 

 extraordinary performance. In twenty-two minutes 

 they covered a five-mile point (their actual course 

 being nearer seven) — then dashing over their fox as 

 he lay down, they went on with a fresh one, and, 

 running him some miles beyond Leadenham, got 

 clean away from huntsman, master, and field, who 

 were scouring the country for hours before coming 

 upon them again. Boothby Park (belonging to Mr. 

 Marfleet) is a certain find, though its sole pretence at 

 covert consists of the laurels round the house, two or 



