CHAPTER XI 



THE FOXHOUND 



Fox-HUNTiNG is above all others the typical sport 

 of the Englishman, and were it suddenly swept away 

 by any cataclysm of Nature, the whole aspect of the 

 countryside would be changed. In view of the hold 

 that it has obtained upon the nation, it might seem 

 somewhat strange to think that the first pack of 

 foxhounds does not date farther back than 1689 

 did we not remember that for centuries before hunt- 

 ing the stag and the hare had been a favourite 

 diversion of the nobles. In the year mentioned the 

 Charlton Hunt, now the Goodwood, in Sussex, 

 changed from the stag to the fox. Until about this 

 period Reynard had not been much esteemed, being 

 mainly killed with the object of extermination. 

 Among our older packs are the Sinnington, the 

 Belvoir, and the Pytchley. To-day there are over 

 two hundred packs in the United Kingdom, each" 

 causing the circulation of large sums of money in 

 rural districts. It is computed that at least 100,000 

 a year are spent in the vicinity of Melton Mowbray 

 alone. A pack hunting three days a week cannot be 

 maintained for less than 1,800 a year, and this 

 does not take into account the money expended by the 



