THE 



OLD SURREY FOX HOUNDS 



CHAPTER I 



EARLY DAYS 



A VIVACIOUS critic has remarked that " Surrey is 

 ** not the Shires ; but," he added with a chuckle, "it 

 is full of sporting thrills.'"' 



We may take that commentary as a genial working 

 basis for this history. It is justified, according to our judg- 

 ment, by the importance and unique interest of the issues 

 involved. Whilst we make no pretensions that have not, 

 at least, a respectable foundation or the support of ac- 

 credited authorities, we recognize that our subject must 

 be treated with great care ; and its splendid traditions serve 

 to give us infinite encouragement. Those " sporting 

 thrills " are very enjoyable. If they only last ! 



Surrey is certainly not the Shires, and no such claim is 

 made for it by its most ardent admirers. It is not a beau- 

 tiful grass country (as regarded from a hunting point of 

 view), with small gorse coverts and flying fences and all the 

 glamour of "fashionable" associations. No, we are obliged 

 to put up with plainer fare, with the minor ecstasies. We 

 are, alas, a trifle deficient in speed at times, though not 

 in stamina; great "hunting" runs are more in our line. 



