368 THE CREAM OF LEICESTERSHIRE. [Season 



in the first hundred j-ards. Huge excitement : a rampant 

 exodus of horsemen : and only a faint whimper in the next 

 half hour. Black clouds driven down the wind : icy particles 

 stinging the pupils of your eyes : shivering misery. A vixen 

 at Barkby Holt. Home to growl at the fireside. Hunting 

 very expensive amusement. Very silly to be so infatuated. 

 Groom in for orders. Bound to be a run to-morrow. 



If Friday was a day of comfortless inaction, Saturday was 

 one of sunny incident. The snow storms had exhausted 

 themselves during the night, dealing out a heavy fall at Bel- 

 voir Castle, a thick sprinkling at INIelton. Thus, when the 

 sun was at its meridian, Meltonians were riding to the meet 

 through a clean country, while at the kennels the hunt ser- 

 vants long |thought themselves weather-bound. But things 

 were set right in course of time, and the whole party moved 

 off to Mr. Burbage's covert, under the soothing influence of a 

 north wind (for in the waywardness of our climate, the change 

 of wind from west to north at once brought warmth with it). 



About a mile from the city of Melton Mowbray lies Mr. 

 Burbage's covert — a blacktliorn stronghold in a bend of the 

 Wreake. A ford gives an exit from it on the south ; a rail- 

 way crosses its northern face. Add to these details of posi- 

 tion that the rising gi'ound beyond the railway is always 

 covered with footpeople whenever a whisper is abroad that 

 the covert is to be drawn, and you will understand that a 

 fox and his followers have frequent difficulties to contend with. 

 To-day was an instance very much in point. 



While hounds were in covert, the field as usual edged closely 

 up to the gate at its corner with a view to the ford beyond. 

 The keenest spectator of all was the veteran owner ; who, now 

 able to join the sport no longer except on wheels, had driven 

 down to view a fox away. It was a sight almost touching to 

 watch the keen unselfish interest of one who for so many years 

 took active and prominent part in the vigorous pleasures of fox- 

 hunting — an interest now confined to providing sport for 

 3'ounger men. It might indeed have taught a sceptic to think 



