SOME VERDERERS, OLD AND NEW 35 



young lady, walking with her governess in the 

 Forest, came suddenly upon the worthy Baronet, 

 they became so alarmed, that they fairly took to 

 their heels, and never paused till they reached 

 home, and described the wild man they had met 

 in the woods. Of course a shout of laughter 

 arose, for their description was unmistakable. But 

 a more kindly, good-hearted gentleman than Sir 

 Henry never existed, in spite of appearances. 



Sir Henry was always very friendly to me, 

 and gave me much good advice on which I knew 

 I might rely, for his sense of justice and impar- 

 tiality was very strong. He had, moreover, having 

 worked hand-in-hand with the Crown authori- 

 ties for many years, a strong feeling as to the 

 duty of the verderers to support the Crown and 

 its authority rather than to undermine it. While 

 he presided over the court, as in the absence of 

 the Official Verderer he frequently did, one was 

 perfectly certain that even-handed justice would 

 be dealt out whether it was the Crown or a 

 humble commoner constituent that was concerned 

 with the matter. 



Sir Henry had some rather curious ideas 

 about shooting. His estate at Little Test wood 

 was only small, but he liked to rear a certain 

 number of pheasants there. But since he had so 

 little ground to shoot them on, he always began 



