GENERAL MANAGEMENT. 285 



Your keeper is a most important personage ; 

 *as a rule they are the most ignorant, presuming, 

 bumptious lot of fellows I know of can break 

 dogs, breed pheasants to any amount, dress 

 flies, etc., etc. There are good men occasionally 

 to be had, but their name is certainly not 

 Legion. 



I remember many years ago a man came to 

 me for my place. I asked him for his character, 

 and where he had been ; he gave me a good 

 testimonial, and said he had been eleven years 

 in his last place, which he had, but unfortu- 

 nately his late employer, was no sportsman, 

 knew nothing about it, and had only seen this 

 man once a year during the whole time he had 

 been with him. 



I asked him if he could break dogs. 



" Lord bless you, sir," he replied, " I've a 

 broken hundreds, and though I say it there 

 ain't a keeper a going as can do it better 

 than I." 



" And are you a pretty good shot ?" I asked. 



" Well, sir," he replied with a sort of satisfied 

 triumphant smile, "I ain't a man as is given 

 to brag, but I b'lieve I can shoot above a bit ; 



