INTRODUCTION xvii 



be read and valued and will give to those generations to 

 come some idea of the joyous days so much appreciated by 

 their forbears. 



Suffice it to say that a man or woman who has hunted 

 the fox honestly and courageously has never but benefited 

 from his or her experience. 



The many occasions on which he or she has conquered 

 self, be it in early rising when laziness is overcome, be it in 

 overcoming fear when the rasper is faced with pluck de- 

 spite good excuses for taking the gap, or be it in the ex- 

 ertion of self-control and expression of courtesy, which 

 should always be the rule in the hunting-field — these 

 many opportunities of self-mastery, are they to be de- 

 spised in the building-up of the character of our race? 

 Surely, no! And, therefore, I feel sure that this hunting 

 record cannot but be of a certain value in its modest way, 

 as part of the history of our times. 



The honesty and simplicity with which it has been writ- 

 ten is not the least of its charms and is one of its greatest 

 values for the future, as no one can fail to recognize the 

 sincerity of the writer. 



