INTRODUCTION 



. This little work owes its origin to the following cir- 

 cumstance : — On the day of the last " Derby," just as 

 Surplice had accomplished his victory, a gentleman was 

 pointed out to me as having lately succeeded to a pack 

 of Foxhounds, in the North of England ; but my in- 

 formant could neither tell me the name of the hounds, 

 nor the country which they hunted. My cm'iosity was 

 at fault ; and I at once conceived the plan of collecting 

 materials which might afford me information on such 

 subjects, and be of still farther use as a book of reference 

 to the hunting world. 



The Army, Navy, and Church have their Lists ; the 

 Court has its Guide, and Tradesmen theu* Directories ; 

 but that the hunting community of England, which com- 

 prises, at least to an equal degree, the wealth, rank, and 

 station of the land ; which has been described in Parlia- 



