HUNTING THE FOX 123 



Beckford's description of a Fox chase in Letter 

 XIII. From the point of view of a lover of Hounds, 

 it is probably the best thing of its kind that has 

 ever been written. Here you have the feelings of 

 the enthusiast and the spirit of the sportsman, 

 set down by the pen of the expert in language 

 that is almost blank verse, and can be described 

 without impertinence as being superior to the 

 lines of Somerville, whom he so amply cites. 

 Beckford need not have called Somerville to his 

 aid. He knows how to " get it over " better 

 than the poet. He conveys the romance while 

 preserving the technique of the chase in a style 

 that will always bring a thrill to the heart of the 

 true Fox-hunter. 



Less witty and cultivated than Thoughts upon 

 Hunting, but almost equally instructive, are such 

 text-books as The Noble Science, by Mr. Delme 

 Radcliffe ; Notitia Venatica, by Mr. Thomas Vyner ; 

 The Diary of a Huntsman, by Mr. Thomas Smith ; 

 and Observations on Fox-hunting, by Colonel Cook. 

 Of these Colonel Cook's work is probably the 

 least familiar to this generation, though a modern 

 M.F.H. would do well to follow almost every word 

 of advice it contains. It is interesting to recall 

 that Colonel Cook married Miss Elizabeth Surtees, 

 a kinswoman of Robert Smith Surtees, author of 

 Handley Cross and Mr. Sponge's Sporting Tour, 

 because, in the latter work, there are two oft- 



