THE SPORTSMAN AND HIS HABITS. 401 



swallowed but a spoonful or two. Not liking to let 

 him sleep out another night, my desire to serve him 

 got above my usual shilling, and on giving him half- 

 a-crown, and some more food, he rose and hobbled 

 off in thankfulness on his road to Lymington. I 

 believe he was an object of charity ; I think he said 

 he came from Preston, or some of the manufacturinir 

 places, and that he had been a "compositor;" and I 

 hope that the little I could do for him was as accept- 

 able to him as it w^as to me, for, indeed, I was very 

 well pleased. 



Let not people suppose that when a man leads 

 the life of a sportsman, that his time is thrown away 

 on a course of life, unprofitable as well as harsh to 

 himself and the surrounding poor. A sportsman's 

 Iiabits bring him into very wholesome contact with 

 all his neighbours, particularly with the yeoman and 

 labourer, wdio at times join him in the open-hearted 

 spirit, wliich a common pursuit and pleasure induces. 

 The young lord of the estate learns by personal 

 practice to view his tenants in the light of companions 

 and friends, as well as mere machines to pay him 

 the rent, through which he procures his pleasures. 

 Contact and conversation with them in scenes of 

 amusement give him an insight into their characters, 

 and show him that there may be a very good soul 

 contained in a smock frock, and that it is not always 

 the best heart and readiest hand that beats under 

 laced vests, or abides in a kid glove. The pleasures 

 lie pursues, though guarded and asserted ever so 

 strictly, should be shared in by his tenants, and made 

 to remunerate the labouring population as much as 

 possible, and they should be taught to discover that 

 in game-preserving, they invariably were the gainers, 



D D 



