INTRODUCTORY 13 



possess this curious instinct strongly, but who are 

 condemned through circumstances to an office 

 stool, and never see a hound all their lives. 

 Denied its legitimate outlet, this hidden force 

 finds a vent usually in lavishing affection on dogs 

 and other animals. The instinct is occasionally 

 inherited by certain families, but as a rule it is 

 very wayward, cropping up in the character of 

 individuals by whose breeding one would least 

 expect it, and being entirely absent in the 

 descendants of men who have possessed it fully. 

 One brother may be an ardent hunter, and the 

 other may hate the sight of a hound. Love of 

 hunting is not often seen side by side with that 

 commercial spirit which lays up for itself the 

 riches of this world, though of course there may 

 be exceptions to this as to every other rule. 

 The man whose chief centre of interest is hunting 

 and hounds will very seldom find time for the 

 making of money. There will always be found 

 plenty of sneaking Jacobs to take advantage of 

 the easy-going, sport-loving Esaus of this life. 



The cry of hounds appeals to something within 

 us that we cannot define, and our first impulse 

 is to follow. If we do not possess a horse, we 



