-v- 



p R E F A C E. 



It is usual in books of this kind to put forward 



in the Preface some reason or excuse for their appear- 

 ance. I have observed that publication is frequently 

 ascribed to the advice of relatives and friends who, 

 having read the manuscript, have so insistently urged 

 that a wider public should be allowed to enjoy it, 

 that a more or less modest and unwilling author has 

 given wan . In my case I have been unable to detect 

 y such pr e s s ur e . 



Even "M. H. w*. G. S.," to whom I dedicate the 

 work, gave me much assistance, but no direct encourage- 

 ment, although often able to keep awake while I read 

 whole chapters. Of course, nobody really has all 

 those initials. 3 letters stand for "My Helper with 

 Grammar and S pel]:' . 



For myself I must admit that, on reading over the 

 uscript for the last time, my chief feeling is one 

 of amazement that anyone could make so fascinating a 

 subject so dull. 



There is in the book very little that is new, but 

 there is a good deal that is sure, and if, dear reader 

 (it would be taking too sanguine a view to use the 

 plural), you plough through it, you may possibly gain 

 a few useful hints. I near the end of my Preface, and 

 am still without any excuse or reason for publication, 

 so I think I will just put it down to obstinacy. I 

 have lived more or less for hunting all my life: I said 

 I would write a book about it, and I have. I just said 

 "a book" - no adjective. But I fear, if I added the 

 adjectives I have employed while writing it, I could 

 not get my Preface into print. 



