MELTON MOWBRAY 15 



caused one of his friends to remark that he supposed 

 Jamie wore red gaiters so that he should not be taken 

 for a blackleg. 



In due course, however, the spoliation of sign-boards, 

 the tarring and feathering, the street brawls, all of which 

 were, rightly or wrongly, laid to the account of the 

 hunting visitors, gave way to a better state of things, 

 and some time prior to 1850 Melton had become quite 

 an exemplary place. Literary societies came into fashion, 

 we are told ; ladies came to Melton, 1 and everything took 

 an upward turn. Much of the credit for this state of 

 things is said to have been due to the Lord Wilton of the 

 time ; he who rode well up to the time of his death, when 

 aged about eighty. Egerton Lodge had been bought 

 from Lord Darlington, and after being altered and 

 enlarged, became one of the finest hunting residences 

 in the county, and there the juvenile members were 

 accustomed to indulge in private theatricals, and give 

 other entertainments. 



Melton, like other places, has moved with the 

 times, and now every decorum reigns supreme, and 

 the social life of this delightful and famous hunting 

 centre is very much like what it is in other places, 

 all residents and visitors appearing to enjoy them- 

 selves. 



One little matter there was, however, which rather 

 upset the proprieties of Melton in 1890 — the "midnight 

 steeplechase." A mild affair was got up, but as the 

 moon did not serve till about midnight, the start could 

 not take place till then ; the jockeys, following the 

 example of those who are supposed to have taken part 

 in the mythical " first steeplechase on record," wore 

 white garments ; the course was lit by lamps, and 

 Melton was possibly rather lively at a later hour than 



1 The Duchess of Devonshire and numerous other ladies hunted with the 

 Quorn in the time of Mr. Meynell. 



