350 The Hunting Countries of 'England. 



A deep, muddy, country you will find when you get 

 there, it is true : but a country well cared for, and 

 with an establishment long ago set on a superb, 

 almost princely footing. The Kennels at Luton too, 

 two miles from Harpenden Station, are a sight for 

 anyone to whom the care of the foxhound is a matter 

 of concern — unless, indeed, the unattainable magni- 

 ficence of the buildings bring a too reactionary sense 

 of disappointment to the ordinary beholder. The 

 Kennels at Luton are as far removed from the ordinary 

 structure in which the foxhound is housed, as a farm 

 homestead is from Buckingham Palace. Through the 

 entire length of the hounds' building runs a broad 

 flagged corridor, on either side being the various 

 kennels with their offices. Thus in cold or wet 

 weather the pack is to be seen without any of the 

 discomfort so often attendant on an ordinary ^' day on 

 the flags.^^ Feeding houses, washhouses, &c., are 

 all on a commensurate scale : and the stables are to 

 match — no less than twenty loose boxes being ranged 

 in a continuous double line under one roof. The 

 ^' grass-yards '^ are of several acres apiece ; and 

 separate ranges (fenced and kennelled) are provided 

 for the needs of the matrons of the pack. It is to be 

 questioned, in short, if the Kennels built by the late 

 Mr. Gerard Leigh, at Luton, have a rival for com- 

 pleteness and costly grandeur anywhere. The hounds 

 are quite worthy of their residence — being of old 

 blood, and very striking in appearance. As a pack 

 they go back fully fifty years, for most of which time 

 they were in the hands of Lord Dacre and Mr. Leigh. 

 A glance at their Kennel-List will show how purely 



