THE BEST SORT OF SOVEREIGN. 145 



" That/' said I, ^'is the famous Will , one 



of the best huntsmen living, and a very good- 

 natured fellow to any thing but a fox/' 



Will took off his cap at this compliment, when 

 my friend with very good tact rode up to him, 

 saying, " I don't know whether you cap with 

 your hounds or not. Huntsman, but a stranger 

 should always suppose you do," putting a sove- 

 reign into his hand. 



'^ Now," said I, seeing different men coming 

 towards us, " I will, as far as the time will allow, 

 tell you whom you see. That gentleman who has 

 just come up on his hack, as if his life was at 

 stake as to time, is a rich man and gives liberally ; 

 so people are civil to him : he made his fortune in 

 business in London, and has bought a fine place 

 near here : he is one of those fussy mortals who 

 are always in a hiuTy ; he is so in coming, is so 

 while hounds are finding or running, and would 

 be in as great a hurry to get home again, but 

 that he generally so knocks up his horse, that he 

 is fain to get there somehow: he is always doing 

 wrong, riding over hounds, heading back a fox 

 into cover, giving wrong information to the hunts- 

 man, who however knows him too well to attend 

 to him; and as for keeping his tongue still, 

 nothing but a twitch could keep it so ; he is 

 however, a harmless, good-natured creature in dis- 

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