CHAPTER V 



THE HUNTSMAN 

 " A huntsman's fame rises and falls with the sport he shows." 



F we take the whole range 

 of servitude, we shall not 

 find any more deserving of 

 encouragement than hunts- 

 men and kennel servants 

 generally. There are none 

 more respectable in their con- 

 duct, none more energetic in 

 their calling, none more 

 faithful to their employers, 

 and none more obliging to 

 the world at large. 

 A huntsman occupies a somewhat middle station in society, 

 veering between equality and servitude. To a certain extent 

 a huntsman must be the companion and confidant of the 

 " Master," a feeling that generally extends itself to the hunting 

 field. Indeed, it is impossible not to feel a more than ordinary 

 interest for men imbued with the same passion, transported by 

 the same pleasures, and daily hazarding life and limb in the 

 furtherance of our enjoyments. Doubly strong it is when the 

 object is connected with our earliest recollections and associa- 

 tions. Beckford, that great sporting luminary, without whose 



