xvi INTRODUCTION 



of the Bedale is the direct descendant of the man whose 

 name all fox-hunters honour. 



Beckford sat for Morpeth in 1768, and in 1789 he travelled 

 in Italy, when he wrote an account of his travels. Sir 

 Egerton Brydges, in Retrospective Review, says : " Never had 

 fox or hare the honour of being chased to death by so 

 accomplished a hunter ; never was a huntsman's dinner 

 graced with such urbanity and wit. He would bag a fox 

 in Greek, find a hare in Latin, inspect his kennels in Italian, 

 and direct the economy of his stables in excellent French." 

 Of course we understand by this that Beckford was a 

 brilliant conversationalist and an excellent linguist, but I 

 think it would have annoyed him, in spite of the intended 

 compliment, to read of his bagging a fox and of his giving 

 orders to his stud-groom in French. 



The first edition of Thoughts on Hunting was published in 

 1 78 1, when Beckford was forty-one years of age, and the 

 proof of the excellence of the book is in the way it has 

 stood the test of time. You turn to its pages for information, 

 and you find pleasure in gleaning the fruits from the 

 experience of a master in the art. If you flatter yourself 

 you are beginning to know something of the subject, you 

 find yourself agreeing with the author in every particular, 

 and in any way you may differ, you are almost persuaded 

 by his gentle reasoning. If you are an utter novice at the 

 game, a close study of the book will start you on that path 

 of knowledge which experience alone can complete. I have 

 loved and venerated the author for a great many years, so 

 that to me the task of editing his book is an honour which 

 I greatly appreciate. 



Through the kindness and courtesy of the Misses Pitt, 1 

 the present owners of Steepleton, I was able to see the house 

 where Beckford lived and the interesting pictures which are 

 reproduced in this volume. The house is practically as it 



1 Great-granddaughters of Beckford. 



