A Week at Melton, 39 



the beauty of tlie sight — the hill dotted all over with 

 men in scarlet, one or two at each point desirous of 

 haviag a good start, the bulk of the field taking their 

 positon on the top of the hill. Not a whimper is 

 heard though the cover is carefully drawn, as well as 

 some jorse adjacent. Kanksboro^ doesn^t hold a fox 

 to-day— a most unusual occurrence, attributable, in 

 my opnion, to the heavy and long continued rains, 

 which j,ave driven the foxes to the high and dry 

 hedge-r(ws, as I have in the course of the last few 

 weeks sen the best covers in several countries drawn 

 blank. ^ Awoi, lads ! awoi, lads ! ^^ cries Neale, and 

 the hounls are trotted off to Little Dalby Hall, the 

 seat of "Squire ^' Hartopp, the representative of one 

 of the old'st Leicestershire families. 



As we eave the cover one man comes to grief, as 

 his horse, blundering in the deep ground, falls, and 

 rolls overiim. Fortunately no harm is done to his 

 rider, whojiowever, is plastered with mud from head 

 to foot. Juring the fifty years I have ridden-to 

 hounds I nv'er remember to have seen the country so 

 holding, aii. the going so bad, especially for heavy 

 men. Littl Dalby Hall is prettily situated on a hill 

 commandinc. beautiful views of the surrounding coun- 

 try, emboscied in plantations, the spire of the 

 beautiful chrch standing boldly out in the back- 

 ground. Tha the hounds are thrown into the " Punch 

 Bowl,^' anothr celebrated cover, but on this occasion 

 it is empty, for, though Neale draws it with his 

 customary ca;, no fox is to be found. This cover is 

 situated at thtfoot of the Burro^ Hills, and a prettier 

 picture is not ften seen than it presents on such an 

 occasion as thi On the summit of the highest part 



