THE LIFE OF A FOXHOUND. 41 



title to the gratuity accrued. Worthy indeed 

 is the care to be recorded with which the 

 worthy dame bleached and starched the 

 cravat, folded and tied without a crease, 

 around Will's neck. The white cords, too, 

 stained as they have been in many a run, with 

 the mud flying in showers over them, are 

 spotless, and without a speck to note the wear 

 and tear of bygone seasons. His tops also 

 bore evidence of a division of Mrs. Sykes's 

 accomplishments. Scratched and rubbed, it is 

 true, they were; but no erasible mark was 

 permitted to remain. His spurs, too, glittered 

 again; and in short, *' no baron or squire, or 

 knight of the shire," had greater attention 

 paid to his toilet than had our huntsman. 



" Personal appearance," observed Mrs. 

 Sykes to Will, one evening, sitting in a cozy 

 corner of his parlour, in a dreamy, winking, 

 blinking state, lulled by the influence of a 

 blazing yule log — " personal appearance," 

 repeated she, somewhat louder, ' ' is necessary 

 for personal respect ; and unless we look as if 

 we respected ourselves, it's unreasonable to 

 suppose that other people will go for to 

 respect us. We must best know," continued 

 she, ** our own in'ards; and if we show, by 



