328 REMINISCENCES OF A HUNTSMAN 



ence from illegal offence. It has 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 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 

 become the first ministers as well as the parliamentary servants 

 of the Crown. 



