105 



CHAPTEE XI. 



THE QUORN. 



Sad and fearful is the story 

 Of the hunt in Leicestershire ; 

 On that fatal Held of glory 

 Met full many a dashing squire. 



If of later origin than Brocklesby and the Belvoir, the Quorn 

 country certainly equals them in celebrity — a celebrity which 

 is well merited, for, certainly to a man who has plenty of 

 money, plenty of horses, and plenty of nerve, it is a veritable 

 hunting paradise. The best parts of it are all grass, which, 

 unless the season is very wet, rides light and springy ; the coverts 

 are for the most part small, so that there is little difficulty 

 in getting a start, and the fences are as a rule junipable; 

 though I am fain to admit that, unless a man is very well 

 horsed, and his heart quite in the right place, he will not be 

 able to cope with them. There is also a wild district on the 

 Derbyshire side, known as Charnwood Forest, which is first- 

 rate for making and breaking young hounds, though the Melton 

 men seldom or never venture there, as it is a rough, hilly 

 country, with large coverts and stone walls, which are easily 

 enough leaped, but dangerous to horses, as even the slightest 

 cut takes a very long time to heal. I suppose there must be 

 something in the nature of the stone here to cause this, as I 

 have not heard of it in other wall countries. It was being in 

 close proximity to Charnwood which caused Mr. Meynell to lix 

 on Quorndon Hall as a residence, which he bought of Lord 



