A WEEK AT MELTON 6i 



sportsman, and he was himself the best example of 

 the truth of his own words. I think but few men 

 continue to hunt after the first flush and fire of youth 

 is over unless they enjoy this side of hunting. So 

 this, perchance, is one reason why women, who are 

 more prosaic than men, seldom become veterans in 

 the sport. 



But that there is another side to this view of the 

 Melton country is not to be disguised. Mr. Vicker- 

 man shall once more give us his views, as they may 

 be found in Mr. Yerburgh's delightful " Leaves from 

 a Hunting Diary." This hard rider says : " There 

 is many a spot in the neighbourhood where I should 

 like to pitch my tent. The country looks so English, 

 the very hills, though detrimental to hunting " — this 

 I rather doubt, for if it were not for the hills it would 

 be very difficult for hounds ever to draw away from 

 such riders and horses as are found in Leicestershire 

 — " give it a variety of scent, and the continued grass 

 and bridleways render it delightful for riding or 

 rambling over. I can scarcely imagine a more enjoy- 

 able life than to have one's headquarters in this neigh- 

 bourhood. . . . But after all this eulogium, shall I 

 say I am disappointed with Leicestershire as a hunting 

 country, or rather that it does not come up to my 

 expectations or the opinions I had formed of it from 

 the hasty view and taste of it I had in the latter part 

 of the season of 1844 ? It is more hilly than I ex- 

 pected, and the fences, though few and far between," 

 — they are more numerous now — " are in too many 

 places impracticable, so that it is impossible to ride 

 as straight as over the Roothings, and offers a premium 

 to those who affect gateways and bridleways, which 

 are found in abundance. At any rate, I think that 

 I am not premature in saying that I am disappointed 



