70 FOX-HUNTING IN THE SHIRES 



Vale of Aylesbury, and I do not hesitate to say that, 

 owing to the convenience of the trains and their 

 swiftness and punctuality, Market Harborough is a 

 better hunting centre than many places nearer town. 

 The Midland Railway offers every facility, and the 

 same is true of the North-Western. We can thus 

 afford to smile at some of the prophets of evil. 



" It's all over with hunting, my Lord," said an 

 old Pytchley huntsman to the grandfather of the 

 present Lord Spencer. " Why ? " " Oh, these canals 

 they are cutting must ruin it. There will be no 

 getting across them after hounds." This is exactly 

 what, a few years later, every one felt about railways, 

 and these have indeed scored the Midland pastures 

 with many tracks, and undoubtedly they have saved 

 the life of many a fox. Even now I cannot see " John 

 o' Gaunt " as the name of a railway junction without 

 a shock ! But railways, though often a trial to hunts- 

 men and occasionally a danger to hounds, have been 

 far less of a hindrance to hunting than might have 

 been expected. In one sense, indeed, they have been 

 a blessing in disguise, for had there been no railways 

 there would have been more canals, and the latter 

 are a very serious impediment to the sport. As the 

 railways have killed the canals, they have indirectly 

 benefited hunting. The railways, too, place hunting 

 within the reach of those who could not possibly 

 have enjoyed it in the past. There is of course 

 another view of this, considering the crowded state 

 of the fashionable fixtures. But we are not at this 

 moment concerned with that. 



As far as Market Harborough is concerned, no 

 town has felt the benefit of railway extension more. 

 The joint station of the Midland and North-Western 

 railways is near enough for convenience and yet far 



