THE SHIRES 



rarely that we may well be tempted to make the 

 most of one even with jaded servants and a half- 

 tired pack of hounds. The field, too, are con- 

 siderably diminished by three or four o'clock. 

 One has no second horse, another must get home 

 to write his letters, and, if within distance of 

 Melton, some hurry back to play whist. Every- 

 thing is comparative. With forty or fifty horse- 

 men left, a huntsman breathes more freely, and 

 these, who are probably enthusiasts, begin to 

 congratulate themselves that the best of the day 

 is yet to come. " Let us go and draw Melton 

 Spinney," is a suggestion that brightens every 

 eye ; and the Duke will always draw Melton 

 Spinney so long as he can see. It is no unusual 

 thing for his hounds to kill, and, I have been 

 told, they once fou7id their fox by moonlight, so 

 that it is proverbial all over his country, if you 

 only stop out late enough, you are sure of a run 

 with the Belvoir at last. And then, whether 

 you belong to the school of young Rapid or his 

 father, you will equally have a treat. Are you 

 fond of hounds? Here is a pack that cannot be 

 surpassed, to delight the most fastidious eye, 

 satisfy the most critical taste. Do you like to 

 see them hunt .-^ Watch how these put their 

 noses down, tempering energy with patience, yet 

 so bustling and resolute as to work a bad scent 

 into a good one. Are you an admirer of make- 



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