A WEEK AT MELTON 49 



like the former in moderation. In any case it is a 

 change, and there is considerable difference between 

 the Thursday district of the Cottesmore and the rest 

 of the Melton country. There is more plough, and 

 there are large tracts of woodland ; but the woods 

 hold foxes, and the plough carries a scent and rides 

 fairly light in an ordinary season. Moreover, the 

 present huntsman, Arthur Thatcher, has shown excel- 

 lent sport over this part of the country, and some most 

 enjoyable runs have occurred during the season of 

 1902-3. There may, nay, sometimes there must be, a 

 day chiefly spent on the plough or in the woods, but 

 not seldom there will be a gallop from Morkery to 

 Woodwell Head. Cottesmore Wood, too, has been the 

 starting-point of several excellent runs, and the Stocken 

 Hall fixtures have proved successful. It is always 

 worth while to go out for the sake of the possibility of 

 a hunt over the Langham Pastures, or a gallop, such 

 as took place while this book was being written, from 

 Manton Gorse to Launde Wood, up the valley between 

 Ridlington and Prior's Coppice. Burley Woods, too, 

 are a certain find, and there is always the chance of a 

 run into Belvoir territory. Then there is the oppor- 

 tunity of seeing the dog hounds, which, handled as they 

 are by their huntsmen, is one of the most interesting 

 sights to watch in the Shires. So it is not surprising 

 that each season we see more people go forth to hunt 

 from Melton with the Cottesmore on a Thursday, and 

 this is the choice I should advise. It is perhaps more 

 of a hunting than a riding country compared to some 

 which I have written of or about which I have yet to 

 write ; but even this is only comparative, for no man 

 who cannot or will not ride fairly straight and hard 

 can hope to see the best of the sport. Yet possibly 

 the average rider, he who is neither a thruster nor a 



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