xviii INTRODUCTION 



high class hunting estabUshments ; practical, workmanlike, and 

 thoroughly devoted to their beloved pursuit ; the unique enthusiasm 

 of their careers as devotees of the Chase, to which they consecrated 

 all their manly exertions, their extraordinarily vigorous " staying 

 powers," their fortunes, and their entire lives; for, to their tastes 

 and inclinations, hunting was " the breath of life," and the only 

 pursuit worth living for ! 



In these memorable " Hunting Tours, interspersed with character- 

 istic anecdotes, sayings, and doings of sporting men, including 

 notices of the principal Crack Eiders of England," the gifted 

 chronicler soared at liberty in those realms he was fully qualified to 

 analyze and scientifically annotate. 



Inspired by his famous theory, " Independent of the pleasure 

 arising from the Chase, I have always considered a covert's side, 

 with hounds that are well attended, to be one of the most lively 

 scenes in nature ; and I have no hesitation in adding that the best 

 introduction for a young man of fortune and fashion of the present 

 day is to be found at Billesdon Coplow, or Oadby toll-bar," as set 

 forth in his " Essay on Biding to Hounds," " Nimrod," fortunately, 

 contrived to alight upon his true vocation, and its richest realization 

 is found in the " Hunting Tours." Very precious are these excur- 

 sions, in sober truth, and, all too early in their developments, were 

 found over costly to carry forward to their logical sequel. Nimrod 

 was a man of genius and imagination above mere sordid figures ; he 

 was equal to the highest, the most superlative flights, and like the 

 subject of his best biography, " Jack Mytton " (who first appears in 

 these incomparable " Tours "), merely wanted a trifle of a couple of 

 hundred thousand pounds per annum to enjoy carrying out his ideas 

 of enjoyment thoroughly. En lyrincc was the qualification in 

 harmony with Apperley's superior faculties ; some sort of royal 

 bargain — according to times and circumstances — was arranged as the 

 first step in Nimrod's aspiring literary career. The proprietor of 

 the Sporting Magazine agreed to provide the sinews of war ; in a 

 word the gifted scribe, perfectly qualified for his undertaking, was to 

 be horsed, servanted, foddered, kept — with all expenses found — at 

 the cost of the " Mag." ; a capital arrangement, presuming the 

 expansion of the circulation could, in those primitive days, have kept 



