86 PARTRIDGES 



cheerful and ungrudging service and a 

 whole-hearted devotion to duty. 



Not a man to be pitied our head- 

 keeper, despite all Mr. Owen Jones says 

 about keepering being such a badly paid 

 profession. As head on a large estate he 

 draws 70 to 80 a year in wages, 30 to 

 50 a year in tips, with a good house, 

 garden, and the usual allowances ; better 

 pay than many a struggling parson can 

 look for and as he is really fond of his 

 work for its own sake, our keeper may be 

 fairly considered as one who is contented 

 with his lot which is no small thing to 

 be in this restless generation. Finally, he 

 is a good master to his dogs, careful of 

 their welfare, patient with their education, 

 and proud of their appearance and per- 

 formances in the field. 



There are eight other keepers on the 

 estate ; with two of these we have no con- 

 cern here, for their duties lie entirely 

 within the demesne where the two 

 thousand pheasants which furnish the 

 annual covert shoot are reared and main- 



