334 THE QUORN HUNT 



struggled with his scruples, replied, " Well, I don't 

 know ; I do not think it is right." " But where is the 

 harm ? " said the friend. " Well, I think there is a 

 certain amount of harm," replied the other ; " but if I 

 do any hunting in Holy Week, I shall certainly come 

 out in trousers." 



The first week in August 1874 saw the holding of 

 the Great Yorkshire Hound Show— one of those over 

 which Mr. Thomas Parrington exercised so great an 

 influence. The Quorn pack rather came to the fore, 

 winning in the unentered class ; but the year is memor- 

 able from the fact that Quorn Alfred (he came in a 

 draft), by Mr. Garth's Painter, out of Affable, won in the 

 stallion hound class; while Quorn Watchman, by Belvoir 

 Rally wood, out of Belvoir Wanton ; Alfred ; Clasper, 

 by Belvoir Charon, out of Royalty ; and Rattler, by 

 Factor, out of Rival, gained the first prize for the best 

 two couples of entered hounds. Of Quorn Alfred it 

 is needless to say much ; he proved himself the main- 

 stay of the kennel, and his name is venerated to the 

 present day. 



During cub-hunting in the season of 1874-75 the 

 late Empress of Austria, with a suite described by a 

 local chronicler as " consisting of seventeen attendants 

 and four horses," went down to the Harborough Hotel, 

 Melton Mowbray, to have a day's cub-hunting with the 

 Belvoir, returning to London the next day, after inspect- 

 ing the Belvoir kennels and stables. Four years later, 

 while hunting in the Pytchley country, the Empress 

 ao-ain visited Leicestershire, arriving at Kibworth station 

 one morning at ten o'clock to meet Mr. Tailby's hounds 

 at Burton Overy. The Empress was on this occasion, 

 as usual, piloted by the late Captain Middleton, and 

 there was an enormous field out. 



On October 17, 1874, the hunting world was robbed 

 of one of its best known characters in the person of Lord 



