RECOLLECTIONS OF GEOEGE CARTER. 17 



Gopher Wood, and so that took him up-ivind ; and if 

 that earth had been ' Put-too' ^ as it ought to have 

 been, you'd ha 'caught him' before he could ha got 

 back to the West Woods. Oh dear, dear, I do know 

 all about it, and so I ought, for I've a-hunted all 

 my life, and if I hadn't I shouldn't ha' been here 

 now. Ahem ! " (N.B. — This is intended to represent 

 a peculiar clearing of the throat, and one of the old 

 man's peculiarities.) 



Now, gentle reader, having established a kind of 

 precedent in the huntsman's parlour, and the easy chairs 

 or kennels, or what not, we will suppose ourselves there 

 on any evening in the winter, and to the best of my 

 ability I will give some of the recollections as they come 

 across me. Let it not be considered a want of good 

 taste if George Garter did not consider the late Mr. 

 Assheton Smith quite such a demi-god as some people 

 might suppose him or wish him to have been. The old 

 Squire of Tedworth had doubtless many good points of 

 character, and kept up a splendid establishment at his 

 own expense for everybody who cared for hunting to 

 enjoy; but George Garter lived with him for over 

 sixteen years, and knew pretty well the ins and outs 

 of his character, but you may draw your own inference 

 from what may follow in these pages. 



1 Pronounced as "but." 



C 



