90 FOX-HUNTING IN THE SHIRES 



W. W. Tailby's covert at Slawston, and ran eleven 

 miles to a rabbit hole on the other side of Botany 

 Bay. Probably they changed at Noseley, but Mr. 

 Philip Beatty, who generally manages to be with them 

 when they run, told me he had never seen hounds 

 go faster than they did when they left Noseley. The 

 fox, or foxes, ran the centre of the fields and was 

 scarcely off the direct course all the way. This is 

 another instance of a truth I have long been con- 

 vinced of, that if it were not for wire fox-hunting 

 is as good now as ever it was. Never in the 

 history of the sport have great runs been of everyday 

 occurrence, but as they still are, the exception 

 rather than the rule. It is curious that Nimrod 

 should a hundred years ago make precisely the same 

 complaint about short running foxes that we do 

 to-day. 



Another very delightful bit of country is that round 

 Rolleston. This is one of the houses that is bound 

 up with the history of hunting. It was the home of 

 Mr. Greene, " the fly," so called from the lightness 

 of his hand on a horse. Mr. Greene was once Master 

 of the Quorn and one of the best and most graceful 

 horsemen who ever crossed Leicestershire. In the 

 hands of the present owner. Lord Churchill, Rolleston 

 has lost nothing of its attractions for hunting men, 

 for its coverts always hold foxes, while the house is 

 a pleasant feature in the midst of a fine stretch of 

 country. Beyond this, again, is Keythorpe Hall, on 

 the very borders of the Cottesmore. This is the 

 residence of the Master, Mr. Femie, and its coverts 

 swarm with foxes. From here are drawn the Rams 

 Head, the Moor Hill Spinneys and Vowes Gorse, the 

 last said to have been planted for Mr. Osbaldeston 

 by a farmer of that day who was an admirer of the 



