98 FACT AGAINST FICTION. 



pretcud to jn^eserve game on, or to live In, tliey 

 openly lauglied at lils ineffective gamekeeper, and 

 not content with .shooting or snaring the little wild 

 life there was in fur or feather, they absolutely 

 infracted the premises, and stole the barn-door fowls 

 that roosted in his laurels at his door. In short, 

 no one ivould live at what was then called Alder- 

 ney Cottage, until that hapjDy state of things 

 existing in its vicinity w^as broken through by my 

 under-renting it of a Mr. King, who had taken it 

 of Sir Ivor Guest, and kept it in a very neglected 

 state. 



Here, then, is an answer to the Bright, Ho dger. 

 Dodger, Dilks, and Doddle cry of the harm done 

 by the great, or what these ^^ dodger" people 

 call '' the over-preservation of game." By day 

 nor night was there any proper notice of the 

 lawless state of the district, save such as was 

 confided to the public supervision of the county 

 police, wdio, of course, could not specially absent 

 themselves from the highways to see what w^as 

 going on in more remote places. Tlie tenant- 

 farmers in the vicinity Avere trespassed on by 

 night, and their ricks fired if they tried to j^rotcct 

 themselves. 



