i 4 4 THE QUORN HUNT 



from Leicester to Melton, and nearly midway between 

 the two places, on the bank of the river, it was ill suited 

 to the accommodation of a large hunting establishment. 

 The stable was conceived upon a bad plan, while the 

 lodging- rooms for hounds and the yards were "cribbed, 

 cabined, and confined," and so there was no inducement 

 for the next master, whose turn came all too soon, to 

 take to them. 



The cub-hunting season of 1831 saw Sir Harry 

 Goodricke duly installed as the M.F. H., a dinner in 

 honour of the event being held at the George Hotel, 

 Melton, on the 6th October. More than eighty guests 

 were present; Mr. Inett, of Kettleby, presided over 

 the festive gathering, and was supported by that old 

 sportsman Mr. Marriott. The chairman proposed the 

 health of Sir Harry in what is called " felicitous terms," 

 and among the toasts of the evening was "The im- 

 mortal memory of Meynell, the founder of the Quorn 

 Hunt." After dinner Mr. G. Marriott, jun., gave the 

 following song, written for the occasion by the author of 

 one or two other hunting songs : — 



MELTONIAN SONG 



That Sire of the Chase — our crack Nimrod, old Meynell, 



Once said to a famed brother sportsman at Quorn, 

 That " the fame and the fun of a Le'stershire kennel 



Should cease — when the sun ceased to gladden the morn." 

 He's gone, but each year proves how true the prediction ; 



Unmarred is our sport — undiminished our fame, 

 He's gone, and this day shows his words were no fiction, 



For " Hunting " and " Le'stershire " still mean the same. 



Chorus {after each verse). 



Then round with the bottle, and let it not tarry, 



While we hail, while we honour, the man of our choice ; 



In a bumper, come pledge me— the gallant Sir Harry, 

 Whom we love in our hearts, as we hail with our voice. 



