PREFACE. IX 



acceptable to the Public, some one must be 

 found generally known to be intimately ac- 

 quainted with the habits, dispositions, and feelings 

 of animals, and equally practised in their treat- 

 ment and management, so as to render them ser- 

 viceable to man, with the least possible suffering 

 to the animal ; it was at the same time considered 

 that such person should be also known as a 

 sportsman, in order to do away with any impres- 

 sion on the reader's mind that he would be 

 inflicted with the perusal of either maudlin sen- 

 sibility, or overstrained feelings of unnecessary 

 indulgence towards the brute creation. 



I will endeavour to bring a case in point. If we 

 wanted to reform the habitual drunkard, it would 

 be quite impolitic to turn him over to the lessons 

 or advice of the tee-totaller,or even the particularly 

 abstemious man : he would most probably refuse 

 to listen to either ; and if he did, he would hold 

 all that emanated from them as ideas only ori- 

 ginating with, and entertained by such particular 



