1878—79.] THE MASONS OF MELTON. 285 



and Firr hurried out to set hounds on his track. Away through 

 the long plantation below Little Dalby — a Friday field, and 

 two little handgates. Then round Burdett's Covert, up 

 Burrough Hill — much holloaing, and hounds never fairly 

 settled. The ascent was breasted ; and at once it was necessary 

 to descend again. Quickly hounds bore up once more into 

 the Punchbowl; and this was the moment when you either 

 sickened of climbing or went vigorously on to take part in an 

 excellent sporting run. The past ten or fifteen minutes ought 

 really to be wiped out of the computation of time-takers ; for 

 from Gartree Hill to the Punchbowl is scarcely more than a 

 stone's throw. Over the steep pitches and gulKes to Somerby 

 Village hounds bustled merrily on, with a brace of foxes before 

 them ; and then they were laid on again beyond the village — 

 with the cream of old Leicestershire before them and the 

 flower of young Leicestershire in their wake. Over the good 

 wild grass to Owston village they ran, all of themselves and 

 sometimes by themselves — for the big fences and intersecting 

 bottoms gave them all the room they wanted. An honest 

 stretching oxer bordered the fii'st field ; a single attempt was 

 made at it ; and a single horse went on riderless — while a gate 

 opened the way to all who followed immediately after hounds. 

 By the way, how wild and eccentric is, usually, the career of a 

 riderless horse — even of an old hunter ! The animal now 

 taking his own part with hounds soon struck off at right angles 

 to his proper course, in order to clamber and crash through 

 another compound bullock fence, in order to reach a deep wet 

 bog beyond ! In the same way, with the Belvoir on the day 

 immediately following, a horse without its rider galloped straight 

 into an open pond — as if attacked by gadflies. 



Three broad gateways carried on the van and the body of the 

 field, till presently hounds bore leftwards across a bottom 

 whose width could only be determined by experiment, its 

 nearer bank having a dark thorn fence to screen it. Mr. 

 Brocklehm'st and Mr. Herbert Flower were first to make the 

 trial, each dropping only a hindleg. The three next comers 



