THE FOOTPATH DIFFICULTY. 



173 



A RABBIT-HOLE NETTED. 



The lanes and roads and public footpaths that cross 

 the estate near the preserves are a constant source of un- 

 easiness. Many fields are traversed by a perfect network 

 of footpaths, half of which are of very little use, but can- 

 not be closed. Nothing causes so much ill-will in rural 

 districts as the attempt to divert or shut up a track like 

 this. Cottagers are most tenacious of these ' rights,' and 

 will rarely exchange them for any advantage. ' There 

 always wur a path athwert thuck mead in the ould volk's 

 time ' is their one reply endlessly reiterated ; and the 

 owner of the property, rather than make himself unpopular, 

 desists from persuasion. The danger to game from these 



