PREFACE 



IN setting forth my reminiscences of Chasing and 

 Racing, I have taken a rather bold step, inas- 

 much as my personal experiences as a Master 

 of Harriers and Foxhounds, and as an amateur 

 rider, have been confined to *' provincial " packs, and for 

 the most part, as regards race riding, to very moderate 

 specimens of the equine race ; but as one who loved 

 the hounds which he hunted, and the "blood '' which 

 carried him under Jockey Club and National Hunt 

 rules, I venture to hope that the idiosyncrasies, and 

 what I may term the " personalities," of these incon- 

 spicuous animals, will appeal to those who take a real 

 interest in hounds, hunters, and racehorses, apart from 

 their face value as means to an end only — as pawns in 

 the great games of the hunting-field and the racecourse 

 respectively. 



I had hoped that the portraits of some of the 

 canine and equine heroes and heroines which figure 

 in these pages might appear in this volume ; but, by 

 an evil stroke of luck, all my albums containing these 

 counterfeit presentments were, a few years ago. 



VII 



