Lord Ferrers'. 289 



its limits. Thus his usual field consists of at most a 

 dozen gentlemen, and as many farmers — the hunting, 

 no doubt, being thus made easier for huntsmen, fairer 

 for hounds, and pleasanter for those of the little 

 company who may prefer their sport without the 

 accessory of society. Loughborough often sends its 

 emissaries over the border on a Friday, rather than 

 condemn them to a better fate and a longer journey on 

 to the grass with the home pack. But Loughborough 

 is not a sporting centre, though a sporting place. 

 People hunt from there ; but do not come there to 

 hunt. Nottingham, again, attracts only through its 

 manufactories ; and as a home for what the press 

 sometimes terms the knights of the pencil; and, 

 besides, those who manufacture and those who bet 

 have a pack of their own close at hand. In fact. Lord 

 Perrers' is quite a little Hunt of its own, nestled 

 away in a snug corner, and carrying on its sport in a 

 quiet satisfactory way for its own amusement. It may 

 be reached from Derby, and it may be reached from 

 Nottingham; while Loughborough would join in 

 oftener were not the days of hunting the same as those 

 of the Quorn in their best country — Monday and 

 Friday to wit. If you would pay it a visit from a 

 distance, Trent (where all the Midland trains pull up) 

 would probably be your poijit. It is 120 miles from 

 London and twenty from Leicester. Or, by a slow 

 train, a ticket to Kegworth would set you down in the 

 heart of the country. 



The whereabouts of Lord Ferrers^ Country may be 

 defined thus. It begins where Charnwood Forest 

 ends — at, and including, Gracedieu. It thence goes 



