156 Hunting Countries of England. 



riding distance — or the Duke of Grafton to be 

 reached by rail. And all this wealth lies within two 

 hour's journey of London ! Truly Rugby would seem 

 to stand out alone as a point of attraction for the 

 sport-loving Londoner. 



Or, for a man desirous of attaching himself to a 

 single pack, there is Nuneaton offering him every 

 facility of access and every opportunity of enjoying 

 himself. It is only a few miles from the Atherstone 

 Kennels ; and less than two and a half hours from 

 London. To be ^^sent to Coventry," again, in the 

 literal sense, is to the hunting soldier the summum 

 honum of earthly happiness. There he will hunt 

 from barracks four days in the week, and — if his 

 means allow — will get leave from parade on both the 

 other days, that he may rail to covert elsewhere, 

 not far away. Lutterworth, Leicester and Market 

 Bosworth, also, are by no means undesirable stations. 



It is only on a Friday that the Atherstone command 

 the giant field that constitutes the sole drawback to 

 fashionable Leicestershire — a drawback necessarily 

 begotten of virtue well appreciated. On a Friday you 

 must be prepared to ride in a crowd, and to take 

 your chance over a big country with a multitude all as 

 anxious to be near hounds as yourself — or nearer. On 

 other days with them you want a hunter ; but he need 

 have none of the qualities of a steeplechaser — nor need 

 you have graduated between the flags. But on a 

 Friday you must be quick to start, and bold to ride. 

 Your horse must be able to glide over ridge-and- 

 furrow, to keep his head straight, and jump his 

 farthest when called upon, and to gallop twenty 



