I cannot say that I have so much liking for this sort of sport as for the wilder hunting in the open, with as much chance for the quarry as for the man; but sport enough of a sort there was.

The bright little Lugg river lay on our left, and for a mile on that side on which we were the woods and hills were full of men, who drew together in a lessening curve as we rode slowly onward.

It was good to hear the shouts and the baying of the hounds in the clear May morning.
Men said it was Offa's last hunt of the season; and that is likely, seeing that the time grew late.

If it was, there is no doubt that he meant it to be his greatest also.

Mile by mile, and presently furlong by furlong, as we went the game grew thicker, until the covers and thickets seemed alive with deer which tried to break back, and the undergrowth on either hand of me rustled and crackled with the wild rush of smaller game, to which I soon forgot to pay any heed.