PREFACE 



WHEN the idea of compiling this book was origi- 

 nally conceived, the intention was that it should 

 enter more into detail than was subsequently found to 

 be possible without making the work unduly bulky. On 

 this account it is that runs are mentioned sparingly. 

 Captain Pennell-Elmhirsts "The Cream of Leicester- 

 shire" and "The Best Season on Record," though ex- 

 tending over no more thar^ seven years, together exceed 

 the size of this outline sketch. An account of a good 

 run, penned by one who can both ride and write, makes 

 charming reading, but a mere enumeration of the points 

 touched would interest no one. After perusing the 

 diary kept for about ten years by "Cork-legged Jones" 

 (see p. 51), and the accounts of other runs, one is 

 perhaps warranted in arriving at the conclusion that 

 sport aforetime did not materially differ from that en- 

 joyed at the present day. 



Nearly all the history of the Ouorn which has al- 

 ready been printed has concerned Mr. Meynell, Mr. 

 Assheton Smith, and Mr. Osbaldeston, and as so much 

 has been said about the two latter, the reason is given 

 at page 85 why these two heroes are here dealt with 

 somewhat shortly. All available sources have been 

 searched, and the aim has been to give as many as 

 possible of little-known facts and anecdotes, and not to 

 reproduce, to a greater extent than is absolutely neces- 

 sary, matter which in book, newspaper, and magazine 

 has been published over and over again. 



