THE HUNTSMAN 55 



thousand guineas for winning the Leger once, but suppose it 

 was only a hundred, what Huntsman ever got a tithe of that 

 for kilhng a fox ? A race is but a momentary spasm compared 

 to a hard run over a difficult countr}-, and the dangers of the 

 one are nothing compared to those of the other, but the 

 produce is oftentimes very different. It is not, however, for 

 the purpose of making servants dissatisfied with their places 

 that we have made these observations ; on the contrary, we 

 will remind them that hunting, unlike racing, does not admit 

 of money making, consequently they must put down as no 

 small part of their perquisites the enjoyment they themselves 

 derive from the pleasures of the chase, and remember that 

 though some jocke3-s may get large presents, yet their em- 

 ployment is precarious, and that it is better to have the 

 certainty of a Huntsman's wages than the capricious windfalls 

 of the uncertain goddess, Fortune ; but we alluded to their 

 pecuniary position for the purpose of encouraging the custom 

 that has now almost entirely superseded the old one of 

 capping — namely, that of gentlemen making huntsmen and 

 hound servants presents apart from their wages. Capping 

 certainly had its advantages, but perhaps its disadvantages 

 preponderated. It added interest to energy, and perhaps 

 spurred what might have been otherwise indolent men into 

 activity, but it encouraged mobbing and bag foxhunting, 

 which are both highly inimical to the chase. It is not killing 

 the animal that constitutes the charm of foxhunting, but it is 

 matching the vigour, boldness, and cunning of a wily animal 

 with the faculties and sagacities of others ; putting them on 

 fair terms, as it were, and trying which has the best of it. 

 Mr. Smith says, in his " Diary of a Huntsman," that there 

 are foxes that can beat any hounds if they have time to prepare 

 themselves, and have a fair start. 



Another recommendation that capping on the death had, 

 was, that it was done at a time when men's hearts were open 



