136 EXPERIENCES OF SPORT. 



confidence reposed in them, and that trust and 

 confidence they do not abuse ; but still, as a 

 rule, a really good man in the above capacity is 

 difficult to be found. 



I am one of those men who always like to 

 know what my keepers are at. Many a score 

 of times have I slipped into a warm coat after 

 dinner, when my friends were quietly ensconced 

 before a blazing fire, dipping into their beakers 

 of Burgundy, or magnum of port, blowing clouds 

 of smoke from their short " dudeens," their 

 "yards of clay," or fragrant Havanna, telling 

 their after dinner stories, the last new joke, or 

 their prowess by flood or field. Yes, often have 

 I left my boon companions, and faced the howl- 

 ing storm, the sleet, and snow, the pelting rain, 

 the bitter blast, and nipping frost and why ? 

 Because my love of sport was such that I could 

 not rest easy or comfortable, unless I was 

 "up and doing/ 7 sharing some of its incon- 

 veniences, and to make myself master of the craft. 

 Such must a good keeper do, and much more. 

 Often have I turned out of a bitter winter's 

 morn, when the rest of the party lay comfort- 

 ably in Bedfordshire, dreaming of their previous 



