108 THE LIFE OF A FOX.

in the country. Noblemen and gentlemen have
now lost their good old English feelings, and
instead of inviting their friends for the sport,
they let their shooting, or sell their game in the
market. It frequently happens that the persons
to whom the shooting is let, are men who are
engaged in business and reside in large towns.
They are consequently ignorant of the tricks
and cruelties of their keepers during their ab-
sence, and unaware of the disappointment these
keepers create to hundreds of gentlemen who
reside in the country, who keep large establish-
ments of horses for the express purpose of hunt-
ing, and whose money might otherwise be spent
in‘more questionable ways in town or elsewhere.”

I have heard the following lines recited by one
who said, that they ought to be put up over
the mantel-piece of every farmer in the king-

dom :—

“ Attend, ye farmers, to this tale,
And when ye mend the broken rail,
Reflect with pleasure on a sport
That lures your landlord from the court,