144 The Amateur Poacher. 



spot, and between whom and the people there would 

 have been, even despite of grievances, a certain 

 amount of sympathy. So true is it that in England, 

 under the existing system of land tenure, an estate 

 cannot be worked like the machinery of a factory. 



At first, when the pheasant-preserving began to 

 reach such a height, there was a great deal of poach- 

 ing by the resident labourers. The temptation was 

 thrust so closely before their faces they could not 

 resist it. When pheasants came wandering into the 

 cottage gardens, and could even be enticed into the 

 sheds and so secured by simply shutting the door, 

 men who would not have gone out of their way to 

 poach were led to commit themselves. 



There followed a succession of prosecutions and 

 fines, till the place began to get a reputation for that 

 sort of thing. It was at last intimated to the steward 

 by certain gentlemen that this course of prosecution 

 was extremely injudicious. For it is a fact a fact 

 carefully ignored sometimes that resident gentlemen 

 object to prosecutions, and, so far from being anxious 

 to fine or imprison poachers, would very much rather 

 not. The steward took the hint, and instead increased 

 his watchers. But by this time the novelty of phea- 

 sants roaming about like fowls had begun to wear off, 

 and their services were hardly needed. Men went by 



