256 THE HUNTING FIELD 



may, the Captain g;ot his price, and how the horse turned out 

 will soon appear. 



Captain Shabbyhounde, litce most of the puffing, advertising 

 tradespeople, not expecting to do business with the same person 

 a second time, always made a point of bilking the groom, when 

 he accomplished a sale by himself, and he did not depart from 

 his custom in the present instance. Indeed, there does seem 

 something superlatively silly in feeing a servant, because we 

 have taken it into our head to buy a horse. We might just as 

 well fee the housemaid on buying a broom, the dairymaid on 

 buying a cow, or the man or boy on buying a hat. 



Nobody who knew the Captain, or rather no one who did 

 not know him, l)ut who heard him talk, could doubt for 

 a moment that his objection was founded on pure principle. 

 He denounced it as an absurdity, as a mere premium for 

 dissatisfaction, and the urging of frequent changes on the part 

 of servants. 



When, however, the deal was not to be accomplished without, 

 our friend knew how to plant a sovereign, or even a iive pound 

 note, as well as anybody. The Captain indeed was the 

 creature of circumstance, now liberal, now mean, just as 

 it suited his purpose. The character is a common one, and 

 we need not describe it further. 



When Mr. Strutt, Mr. Milksop's valet and stud-groom, 

 heard that he had presumed to purchase a horse without con- 

 sulting him, he was highly indignant. Strutt had had cause 

 for dissatisfaction before, and it was only not seeing his way 

 clearly to a better place, that prevented him turning his 

 master off. When he learned that his master had dealt with 

 Shabbyhounde, he looked upon himself as regularly robbed. 

 It may seem strange that Mr. Strutt, who had so lately 

 arrived, should be "up" to the Shabbyhounde dodge; but 

 Strutt was a high privilege man, one who stood upon the 

 rights of his order, and he considered it a downright insult 



