TIPS 459 



rejoice to recognise the keeper who gives us a 

 good day over dogs, who is keen that we should go 

 on, who works his ground for all that it is worth, and 

 who is interested in the way we shoot, and anxious 

 that he, his underlings, and his dogs should do us more 

 than justice. Such a keeper does not look upon us as 

 the mere carrier of a tip. He performs his duties out 

 of respect to his master's wishes, out of love of the 

 sport itself, and principally from that noble self-respect 

 which is the foundation of all capable labour. Where 

 such a keeper is in charge, there will not be heard the 

 common complaint that a man cannot go for a week- 

 end's shooting without five pounds in his pocket, two of 

 which are to go into the pocket of the keeper, one to be 

 given to a loader, and the other two to be distributed 

 amongst the rest of the men-servants in the establish- 

 ment. This is a great hindrance to hospitality, and 

 deprives hosts of the pleasure of entertaining their 

 friends. Many of the most amusing and charming of 

 guests are often the poorest, and we know of cases 

 where the host has had actually to supply the tips for 

 his guests, in order to facilitate a more pleasant 

 departure. This is a wrong state of matters, and it is 

 a pity it should exist. There are one or two isolated 

 cases where no tips are allowed on any pretext in the 

 houses of wealthy men, and an arrangement is come 

 to between the master and his servants for a bonus 

 being paid at the end of the season according to scale, 

 instead of the usual tips. This plan should become 



