It is the horsemanship, the galloping and jumping, and the being out in the open air.

Very naturally, however, men who have passed their lives as fox-hunters grow to regard the chase and the object of it alike with superstitious veneration.

They attribute almost mythical characters to the animal.

I know some of my good Virginian friends, for instance, who seriously believe that the Virginia red fox is a beast quite unparalleled for speed and endurance no less than for cunning.
This is of course a mistake.

Compared with a wolf, an antelope, or even a deer, the fox's speed and endurance do not stand very high.