THE WHIPPER-IN 67 



in a Huntsman " and " being a good shot in a Gamekeeper " 

 are of the least consequence. If the keeper can hit a hawk 

 sitting, he says it is enough for him, and that " brains, a cool 

 judgment, a good temper, and a good constitution " are the 

 indispensable ingredients for a Huntsman. Riding, he adds, is 

 his least recommendation. 



But to the Whip again. Here is Mr. Beckford's opinion of 

 what a Whipper-in ought to be : — • 



"With regard to the Whipper-in," writes he, "as you keep 

 two of them (and no pack of fox hounds is complete without) 

 the first may be considered as a second Huntsman, and should 

 have nearly the same qualities. It is necessary besides, that he 

 should be attentive and obedient to the Huntsman ; and as his 

 horse will probably have most to do, the lighter he is the 

 better; though, if he be a good horseman, the objection of his 

 weight will be sufficiently overbalanced. He must not be con- 

 ceited. I had one formerly, who, instead of stopping hounds 

 as he ought, would try to kill a fox by himself. This fault is 

 unpardonable; he should always maintain to the Huntsman's 

 holloo, and stop such hounds as divide from it. When 

 stopped, he should get forward with them after the 

 Huntsman." 



It is ludicrous, but lamentable to sport, to witness a contest 

 between a Huntsman and Whip for supremacy. We remember 

 travelling through Leicestershire some years ago, when the 

 guard and coachman of the mail got to loggerheads on that 

 point, and it ended in the stoppage of the vehicle until the 

 passengers interfered. The coachman found fault with the 

 guard about something — perhaps having been too long over 

 his changing drop — when the guard repudiated his interference, 

 desiring him to " go on and make up lost time — for that the 

 coachman was his servant." " Your servant !'' exclaimed Jehu, 

 pulling his horses up into a walk ; " whose servant am I now, 

 think you ? " added he, grinning over his shoulder. So they 



