26 



HUNTING. 



attributed to a noted first-flight man of our grandsires' time, who, 

 ' larking ' with some brother spirits back to Melton after a poor 

 day's sport, exclaimed in a burst of rapture, ' What fun we 



might ha7^e, if it ivasn^t for these d d hoimds I ' 



It is clear that till about the middle of the last century fox- 

 hunting by no means held the pride of place amongst sportsmen 

 that it now holds. Despite the fox's admission into the hst of 

 beasts of chase, there can be no doubt that then and for long 



' Larking with some brother spirits back to Melton.' 



after he was looked on as a marauder, whose death was to be 

 encouraged by any means, fair or foul. The well-known 

 passage in Chaucer's ' Nun's Tale,' revealing the treacherous 

 abduction of poor Chanticleer, may be cited as a case in point, 

 where, by the way, the fox is called ' Dan Russet ' from his red 

 or russet colour. Sterner evidence still is the speech of OHver 

 St. John, Solicitor-General, against Strafford before the House 

 of Lords in 1641. 'It is true,' he said, as reported by 



