THE SPORTING WORLD. 157 



their holes of which it is useless his watching 

 the entrance. 



There can be no excuse made for destroying 

 foxes unless there was no fox hunting going on. 

 It is the height of meanness and selfishness. 

 He who takes a few brace of birds or a few 

 hares does it for his bread, or very probably 

 (for I do not wish to uphold him) for his beer ; 

 no man would destroy a fox unless he was 

 authorised to do so by those above him, to 

 whose shame be it said, would spoil the sport 

 of a whole country by their meanness, lest they 

 might lose a brace or two of birds, or a few 

 insignificant poultry ; this is selfishness in the 



extreme, for it is not whether Mr. shall 



lose his hunting or Mrs. her poultry, 



but whether the one person should be, we will 

 say, inconvenienced, or perhaps a gentleman 

 and nobleman lose their amusement. Sup- 

 pose twenty brace of birds were killed in a 

 county by foxes, there would be plenty left for 



