428 SYSTEM OF KENNEL AND 



a considerable sum of money, more than equivalent 

 to ^Yhat he had ever received in any one year pre- 

 viously as cap-money; but that, at the end of the 

 season, he begged to return to the old custom, as 

 nearly as we can recollect, in the following lan- 

 guage: — " You have been generous, sir, in giving me 

 this allowance, to which I have no claim, and it far 

 exceeds my expectations; yet I have not now the 

 same pleasure in hilling my fox as under the old 

 system/^ We could not accuse this huntsman of 

 greediness, if the case so cited were true ; and there 

 can be no suspicion of its being incorrect, as cited 

 by one of the most truthful of foxhunters. We must, 

 therefore, dive into deeper water — to the bottom of 

 the well, if we gap — to explain the anomaly. 



The huntsman of the old school had been accus- 

 tomed to the practice of capping ; it acted like a 

 stimulant upon his nerves — it was something like 

 dram drinking. The anticipation of dollars, half- 

 crowns, and shillings being poured into his pouch 

 on the death of the fox excited both his brain and 

 frame to the greatest possible exertion ; and not 

 merely for filthy lucre's sake did he look forward to 

 this recompence, but for the honour of the thing. 

 Cash prices, quick returns, are, we are told, the life 

 of trade; and huntsmen, like other professionals, are 

 not wholly indifferent to pecuniary rewards for ser- 

 vices rendered; but, as a general characteristic, we 

 rarely find the talented of their class sordid-minded. 

 Well paid they ought to be, and must be, to dis- 

 charge their several and onerous duties efficiently. 

 The great risks they incur to life and limb must 



