THE QUORN. 107 



Meynell, Esq., who hunted it from 1753 to 1800, and it is said 

 his country extended from Clifton Gardens, near Nottingham, 

 to Market Harborough. At that time the country was much 

 wilder, and more open than at present, and save a large rough 

 boundary-fence on the confines of a parish occasionally, hounds 

 might run for a considerable distance with nothing to stop 

 them. Neither were gorse coverts nearly so plentiful; the 

 consequence was that runs were longer and wilder, though no 

 doubt blank days were more frequent. 



Mr. Meynell was a great houndsman, and his system has 

 been little, if at all, improved on up to the present day. He 

 did not hunt his own hounds, but entrusted the horn to Jack 

 Raven, Skinner and Jones whipping in to him, and afterwards 

 Joe Harrison. He strictly rode to hunt, and gave his pack 

 plenty of room, but went very hard, and was determined to be 

 with them. Of course he had the best hunters that money 

 could buy, and scrupled not as to the price he gave for them. 

 He sold one horse, South, barely exceeding fifteen hands in 

 height, to Sir Harry Featherstonhaugh for 500 guineas, who 

 afterwards exchanged him for the celebrated race-horse Surprise. 

 Mt. Meynell had at no time more than three or four subscribers 

 to his hounds, we learn from " The Noble Science," and at first 

 only two. Lord R. Cavendish and Mr. Boothby, with whom he 

 lived at Langton Hall, when hunting the Harborough side of the 

 country ; the hounds were then kept at Bowden Inn. In his 

 early days he took a large number of hounds into the field, as 

 many as forty couple, it has been said ; but in after-years, and 

 with more experience, he considerably modified this system. 

 On the 9th of November, 1793, his hounds killed a fox at Red 

 Hill with a white ring round his neck, and three white pads, 

 and on the 12th September, 1796, Pillager, Seaman, and Con- 

 cord, went away by themselves with a fox from Stockerton 

 Park Wood, and killed him at Peasbrook. His friend, Mr. 

 Childe, of Kinlet Hall, Shropshire, introduced the quick system 

 of riding to hounds now practised, which others soon took up ; 



