INTRODUCTION xi 



not particular what they hunted — deer, hares, foxes, and 

 marten-cats were hunted impartially. It was the duty of 

 the keepers of the Chase to keep down the vermin, and 

 it was probably with these men that Peter first imbibed his 

 love of hunting a fox. The population in and around the 

 Chase was of a very sporting character, for they were all 

 descendants of either poachers or keepers. These men 

 would naturally be delighted to see the young squire of 

 Stapleton developing sporting tastes, and would gladly 

 impart their knowledge of woodcraft to him. 



A slight stretch of imagination and we can see Peter, 

 a lad of twelve or thereabouts, galloping off to the Chase 

 on his pony in the fresh crispness of an autumn morning. 

 By arrangement the keepers meet him at a certain spot 

 with eight or ten couple of buck-hounds, but on this occasion 

 it is not deer that are to be hunted. 



A litter of cubs have been located in a patch of gorse 

 in one of the open parts of the Chase, and as they have 

 been making havoc amongst the rabbits it has been decided 

 to reduce their numbers. A crowd of footpeople await the 

 young squire's appearance, and under the direction of the 

 head-keeper they proceed to form a circle round the gorse 

 where the cubs are supposed to be. There are several 

 terriers, and nearly every man carries a spade, for they 

 fully anticipate having to dig. The cubs have, however, 

 moved elsewhere, but there is an old fox at home, and 

 hounds are soon bustling him from one clump of gorse to 

 another. Every time he attempts to escape he is met by 

 a chorus of yells. Peter, in the middle of the gorse, is 

 wild with excitement, dashing wildly from one side to the 

 other, and occasionally viewing the fox. The old varmint 

 begins to think there is more danger in stopping in the 

 covert than in going away, and just when he is supposed 

 to be on the further side, he breaks through the cordon 

 and gets clear away. The noises that are made to stop 



