GRANTHAM 109 



the old soldier who loves the sound of the bugle might 

 do worse than take up his abode there. I have 

 stayed at the " Globe," and found myself very com- 

 fortable. Weedon is even nearer to town than Rugby 

 and almost as well served with trains. Daventry is 

 quiet and out of the way, but with the air of homely 

 English country life and sport about it, which is so 

 delightful nowadays. It is four miles from Weedon 

 and about fifteen from Northampton. It has a com- 

 fortable inn and commands the Pytchley, the Grafton 

 and the Warwickshire. While I was stationed in 

 India it was strongly recommended to me as a place 

 to hunt from, and I went to look at it accordingly, 

 and, had not the conveniences of Market Harborough 

 drawn me, I should have gone there. I certainly 

 recommend it to any one who likes quiet. Places 

 that seem dull to the homekeeping folk appear very 

 havens of peace to those whose lives have led them 

 to wander widely. That is one of the charms of 

 hunting in the Midlands, that you can do just as you 

 please and suit your own tastes. The men who 

 gather round the covert side are as a rule no more 

 provincial in mind than in appearance, and each 

 man is left to follow the sport in his own way, so 

 that whether you like a gay watering-place or a quaint 

 village or a sleepy little country town, you can find 

 what you want and have the very best hunting, which 

 is also surely on the whole the best sport in the world, 

 at your doors. 



III. Grantham 



There is, however, a place which deserves a more 

 extended notice in a book like this than any other 

 hunting centre save Melton or Market Harborough. 



