CHAPTER I 



In Hampshire Highlands 



THE house stands in a small park or clearing in 

 the midst of the great oak and hazel woods which 

 climb steadily up one of those rounded chalk-hills 

 that, alternating with broad and sweeping valleys, 

 form such familiar features of our North Hampshire 

 scenery. A home built in the centre of dense 

 and secluded woodlands miles from a town, almost 

 miles from a village should it not be a paradise 

 for the lover of the wild life and sports which 

 have such a hold on the affections of English 

 country people ? It is one of the objects of this 

 volume to try and show that in a home like this, 

 one out of very many in southern shires not less 



A 



