4 TEN YEARS OF GAME-KEEPING 



But there arose the question of what I should 

 do. There was an opportunity to enter the Bank 

 of England, and I might have gone into the Church, 

 with a fair prospect of becoming a Minor Canon. 

 And there are many people still living who do not 

 realize how thankful they should be that I became 

 eventually a slayer of vermin, and not a doctor. 

 Rebelling against all that meant town life to me 

 what caged existence must be to a wild bird I 

 decided to take the chance that came along, though, 

 strictly speaking, it did not come along, because I 

 went after it. I began at fifteen shillings a week 

 not a princely salary, but by careful management I 

 lived on it. And by careful management I mean 

 that the expenditure literally of every halfpenny 

 required consideration. Still, of the three good 

 things of life, I enjoyed health and happiness, and 

 I felt quite rich when I got a rise of three shillings 

 a week. I have not the smallest regret that I 

 plunged into the game-keeping life. At first, 

 naturally, I found its un fathomed waters somewhat 

 like a cold bath on a winter morning. But whether 

 it be a first attempt at game-keeping or a morning 

 dip in winter that is accomplished successfully, there 

 follows a glow of satisfaction. 



To provide shooting for others, I quickly found, 

 called for skill more complex and interesting than 

 to fire many successful shots myself. Occasionally, 

 when at a sporting beat the shooting has been 



