Bibliothèque mondiale du cheval

« […] The plan, or outline, of this half-true, half-fictitious story, is soon told. It is, as has already been observed, descriptive of a country gentleman, of large fortune and highly connected, having two sons and two daughters. He himself is a sportsman, but only to a certain extent ; that is to say, he does not aspire to fox-hunting, but keeps a first-rate pack of harriers, and is also a good shot. His eldest son has nothing sporting in his constitution, but has all the good qualities that adorn and exalt our nature, and for which, of course, full credit is given him. The hero of my tale is the younger son, who, differing in taste from his brother, enters into the sports of the field at a very early age, and becomes a thorough sportsman, in the legitimate sense of that, often wrongly applied, term. How far I have succeeded in portraying him as such, my readers must be my judges; I can only say, I have made him follow, as nearly as I was able, in the footsteps of those who, within my time and knowledge, have become the most eminent sportsmen of their day, both by " flood and field."[…] » Présentation de l’éditeur (1903)