TIPS AND TIPPERS 273 



the proud mother of these twain called at the head- 

 keeper's cottage, sent in her servant for him, and 

 held forth as follows : ' Brown, you have shown the 

 young gentlemen much good sport. I wish to give 

 you a useful present to mark our appreciation.' It 

 is well here to note that the good lady intended to 

 brook no refusal, for she said ' give ' and not * offer/ 

 She must also have intended to convey that the 

 present was the result of combined contributions, 

 for she said ' our/ and not ' my.' The present turned 

 out to be a money-box, in the form of an elephant 

 with a slit in its back. You have seen the sort of 

 thing price sixpence-halfpenny, to be had even 

 cheaper at sale-time. It was empty. The smallest 

 tip I have known a keeper to receive was threepence 

 in coppers, not even new. The most original tip 

 consisted of five threepenny-pieces, and came from 

 a parson. It is said that the keeper, remembering 

 that there were five Sundays in the month, remarked 

 that they must be for the ' horfeetory.' 



Occasionally I have found the taking of tips 

 rather awkward, though, of course, never a matter 

 of insuperable difficulty for instance, when I have 

 had a gun under each arm, and each hand already 

 full of big silver coins. This is apt to occur when 

 the guns approach in a mass, like driven partridges 

 in a pack ; when they come in a string it is easy to 

 deal with any amount of tips without being rushed. 

 There are three reasons why a keeper should unload 



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