276 THE MASTER OF HOUNDS 



editions have been called for by the general reading 

 public within the last few years. I have heard it 

 gravely stated that hunting books lack refinement. 

 This accusation I wish to repudiate in the strongest 

 terms, for it is a gross libel on the authors. One might 

 just as well say that the " Pickwick Papers" lack refine- 

 ment because Mr. Pickwick occasionally got drunk, or 

 that Shakespeare's plays lack refinement. Yet the 

 people who complain of the vulgarity of Mr. Jorrocks 

 will eagerly devour the problem novels of the modern 

 female novelists. In conclusion, I must apologise to 

 many living authors for not having alluded to them 

 and their work, and especially to those authors who 

 have written the histories of the hunting countries of 

 which they have had experience, for their histories in- 

 variably show signs of deep research involving long 

 labour. I must, however, compliment the compilers of 

 Baily's Fox-hunting Directory on the usefulness of 

 their work. Whether or not the twentieth century is 

 to produce its quota of healthy hunting literature 

 depends in great measure on the attitude of Masters of 

 Hounds. But for the help so freely given by many 

 of them, many volumes must have been left unwritten. 



