PREFACE
It is rather singular to observe but worthy of remark by the Sporting World that, till Mr. Beckford’s book appeared, no work on the subject of Hunting had been published, except an anonymous publication, in 1733, entitled An Essay on Hunting.1 This latter work displays much good sense and practical knowledge: it has been reprinted with great success.
The biography of the Author of Letters on Hunting might be said to be multum in parvo. But, short as it may be, it is entitled to our notice. Peter Beckford, Esq., of Stapleton, in Dorsetshire, died at the age of seventy years. As a gentleman hunter, not a stancher one was to be found in his whole county. His judgment in the choice of hounds, and the skill he displayed in the management of his establishment, claimed the praise of all those persons who witnessed it. In his selection of horses, and all other animals, his judgment was considered equally conspicuous. In the character of an Author, his Letters on Hunting, which have gone through several editions, have not only been pronounced excellent by the Sporting World, but completely show that Mr. Beckford was master of the subject on which he wrote. His elegant and hospitable residence in Dorsetshire was one of the most delightfully picturesque situations in that part of the country. In a word, a truer sportsman never crossed a horse, followed a pack of hounds, or leaped a gate, than Peter Beckford, Esq.
THE EDITOR
October 2nd, 1820
