402 



REMINISCENCES OF A HUNTSMAN. 



by an abstinence from illegal oiFence. It lias ever 

 been my plan to give a labouring man who brought 

 me a leveret, or took care of a nest of pheasants or 

 partridges, three times as much as he could have got 

 had he stolen them, while at the same time, the 

 above fact having been made known, I have never 

 failed to enforce the law against all offenders, and I 

 have found that a sharp punishment has made a 

 thievishly-inclined and bad labourer, a trustworthy 

 and a good one. My reminiscence as well as my 

 experience, as a justice of peace, a game preserver, 

 and a gentleman, addicted to all the sports of the field ^ 

 lead me to the conclusion, that a man can be a 

 sportsman, and an accomplished and graceful member 

 of society at one and the same time, and that there 

 is no class in the community whose situation can be 

 more usefully beneficial than that possessed by the 

 owner of the castle, the manor-house, or mansion ; 

 their knowledge of their tenantry, and of all the 

 working classes, fitting them the more aptly to be- 

 come the first ministers as well as the parliamentary 

 servants of the Crown. 



