6o THE HUNTING FIELD 



in this case we advise gentlemen to let others be the 

 judges of their own means. Let every man give what 

 is convenient to him, and give at his own time. 

 Never mind if a few dirty scamps do escape. Hunts- 

 men and Whips have too much spirit to wish to take 

 money from such beggars. Let them ride over them 

 the first time they get them down, or give their loose 

 horses a cut instead of catching them. 



Capping has been going out of fashion ever since 

 the present century came in. Mr. Corbet, we believe, 

 was the last great Master who allowed it, and with the 

 large fields that attended his hounds, and the many 

 killing runs they had, "Will Barrow and Co." as 

 Nimrod called them, made a good thing of it. Will 

 was a provident man, and when he died ^1400 in 

 money was found in old stockings and all sorts of odd 

 places, in boxes where he kept his clothes, besides 

 suits that had never been on, sufficient for a union 

 workhouse. They still pursue the system for the 

 benefit of Lord Hill with the Surrey hounds, and if it 

 is allowable anywhere, it perhaps is in the neighbour- 

 hood of London, where chance gentlemen may be out 

 every day, that they may never have the pleasure of 

 seeing again. 



The reader will observe that the motto to this 

 paper, taken from Mr. Beckford's "Thoughts upon 

 Hunting," speaks of the Huntsman being " enriched 

 by his greatest pleasure," which in a note he explains 

 to be the field money, collected at the death of a fox. 

 But he goes on to show that capping even then was 

 not universally approved of. " I have heard that a 

 certain duke," writes he, " who allowed no vails to his 

 servants, asked his Huntsman what he generally made 

 of his field money, and gave him what he asked 

 instead of it ; this went on very well for some time, 

 till at last the Huntsman desired an audience. ' Your 

 grace,' said he, 'is very generous, and gives me more 

 than ever I got from field money in my life ; yet 



