THE HISTORY OF THE BELVOIR HUNT 



"Waltham, December lOth, 1805. 

 " It had snowed considerably in the morning and was in- 

 cHned to freeze, and as the sun had little or no power, we soon 

 perceived on meeting at Waltham that there was no proba- 

 bility of the snow melting sufficiently to enable us to throw off 

 in that country. As the Vale of Belvoir appeared free from 

 snow, we determined by a rapid and sudden movement to 

 reach Jericho Covert. Unexpected as our appearance was in 

 that quarter, yet the foxes were not taken by surprise. On our 

 arrival there we were informed that a fox had been disturbed 

 from an adjoining stubble-field and had entered the covert. 

 Probably he had passed through it, for on throwing in the 

 hounds some of them would have brought away a scent at the 

 gate in the top part of the covert. They soon, however, found, 

 and the fox came away along the hedgerow that runs from 

 the north-east corner. The hounds came out with another 

 fox ^ at first, but holloaing them from him we laid them on 

 the scent of the former and ran him very hard across the 

 road that leads to Wratton, then turned to the right, and 

 crossing the Whipling, came up nearly to the canal, two 

 miles from Redmile Bridge. Here we experienced a check 

 by the hounds being over-rode, but they hunted him for- 

 wards, and he got up in view to the pack from some rushes ^ 

 in a field opposite to the windmill which stands on the 

 Belvoir side of the canal. They now set off at best pace, 

 making a direct point for Bottesford town, and then, bearing 

 to the left, crossed the Nottingham turnpike road at the toll 

 bar leading to Elton, leaving Bottesford completely on the 

 Tight, crossed the river Devon,^ and, leaving the village of 

 Normanton on the right and Kilvington on the left, made a 

 direct point for Staunton, but, turning to the right, went over 



* This fox had returned into the covert, and we were lucky in getting 

 the hounds away from him. 



^ Many gentlemen were thrown out at this point, and such was the 

 pace of the hounds from here that they never saw more of them until we 

 turned back from Cotham. 



' The only persons who leaped the wide brook were Mr. Forester and 

 J. Wing, a farmer ; the latter fell in the attempt. The rest of the field 

 leaped into the bottom of it and got out at a watering-place for cattle. 



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