72 THE DIARY OF A HUNTSMAN 



— never was, nor never shall be — yet, after his 

 behaviour to me to-day, I hope he will come here 

 as often as he likes, and it shall not be my fault 

 if he don't always find a fox ; for I never was treated 

 so civilly before,' " etc. The event proved his 

 sincerity, for his cover was afterwards a sure 

 find ; and that very farmer oftener hallooed the 

 fox away than any other man, — another proof 

 that more flies are caught by sugar than by 

 vinegar. 



It is the duty of every man who rides hunting 

 to take every opportunity of doing a service to 

 the cause when he has it in his power, and that 

 happens on many occasions which are frequently 

 overlooked. When accidents happen to men or 

 horses, or when a horse gets loose, men should not 

 be slow in repaying those who assist, who, however, 

 often get little more than a harsh word or two for 

 being slow. A sixpence or shilling often would 

 make the man a friend to fox-hunting, who other- 

 wise goes home disappointed. Sometimes a man 

 runs hard to open a gate, or to give some infor- 

 mation, etc., for which he gets nothing — scarcely 

 even thanks. The huntsman gets the information, 

 but he has not time to throw him a trifle ; and if 

 any other person does so, the man is thankful for 

 it, and thinks it quite correct to go to the public- 

 house and drink success to fox-hunting, most 



