INTRODUCTION xiii 



hounds about a generation ago must know that pursuit 

 of the fox was a simpler affair than it is now — firstly, 

 because the country was in a more natural state, and 

 secondly, because very large '' fields" were unusual 

 except with certain Midland packs. Increase of popu- 

 lation and the building which in recent years has been 

 so much in evidence all over the country, to say 

 nothing of many new railways, have all had an effect 

 upon the sport, and now hunting is practically im- 

 possible in many suburban neighbourhoods where it 

 flourished not so long ago. 



It may be asked, "Who wants to hunt in the 

 suburbs of any large town ? ", and of course there 

 can be only one answer to such a question ; but none 

 the less it is a fact that many once good hunting 

 countries have been curtailed owing to the extension 

 of suburban districts. The result of this extension 

 has been that all sorts of people have migrated from 

 the inner to the extreme outer circles of London and 

 of all large provincial towns, and have in their new 

 abodes found themselves within reasonable touch of 

 hunting. Many of these migrants, of course, are in 

 no wise concerned when they happen to see hounds 

 or hunting folk on the road ; but others have been 

 attracted, at first probably by the panoply of the 

 chase, and afterwards by the sport itself. 



It is not every one in these days who has had gene- 

 rations of hunting ancestors, and has therefore been 

 practically born a foxhunter. Nor is it every one who 

 is reared in an atmosphere of hunting ; but there is, 

 nevertheless, an extraordinary fascination about the 

 sport which extends to all ranks of society, from the 



