Poaching Gentleman-Poachers. 507 



kind. The town poachers' favourite work is done at night, 

 and they endeavour to keep within the number of five, and 

 so avoid the severer penalties which the fact of being in 

 larger parties renders them liable to. They have, moreover, 

 favourite modes of working, by employing a horse and trap, 

 and skirmish about from place to place, taking a shot here 

 and another there, being off again before the keepers can 

 get near them. They are also the purveyors who supply 

 partridges early enough to be in London on the ist of 

 September, who send grouse packed in coffins, and commit 

 other facetious but remunerative misdeeds. The town 

 poacher, furthermore, is frequently a dealer in poached 

 game, taking it from the local rural ones, and disposing of 

 it at a lucrative price ; and there are regular receivers of 

 poached game in nearly every country town. 



Besides these there are the men who poach not so much 

 for the purpose of making money as mostly from pure love 

 of sport. They chiefly infest grouse moors, and are some- 

 times very destructive. In well-preserved districts they are 

 absent, but in badly-preserved ones they and the gentleman 

 poacher often come in for the best share of the sport therein 

 obtainable. Of the gentleman poacher we may say a few 

 words with advantage, because we have noticed that there 

 is a great deal too much of " I'm a gentleman and can do 

 what I like ! " feeling about. Anyone who preserves should 

 be most careful never by any chance to infringe upon his 

 neighbour's rights, or allow his friends or dependents to 

 commit a similar indiscretion. Not only does this produce 

 ill-feeling between the proprietors, but the feud invariably 

 reaches the keepers, and the amount of mischief these latter 



