MY BROTHER KEEPERS 203 
of another ride to give unrestrained expression to 
my mirth. 
A man cannot be a successful keeper unless he 
is a skilled diplomatist. I do not, however, wish 
to imply for one moment that the diplomatic keeper 
corresponds with the cunning, mistrustful, and un- 
trustworthy sort—the man you never feel sure of. 
The majority of sportsmen know just the type of 
man I mean; his brother keepers know him as 
well, and detest him accordingly. But genuine 
diplomacy is a priceless gift. If the truth is told, 
one of its chief opportunities arises when dealing 
with employers. This, I admit, should not be so; 
but it is mainly the employers’ fault. I remember 
a keeper who was employed for many years by 4 
man much given to showing his displeasure by 
losing his temper, when he would shout for the 
keeper in extremely forcible phrases. I asked the 
keeper one day how he managed to cope with 
these outbursts, which averaged about three a day. 
He summed up his method by saying that he ‘ took 
ne’er a mossel o’ notice on ’em, bless ye!’ if he 
could avoid it. Whether he was some distance 
away, or quite near, so long as he was out of 
sight, he would, if pressed, make excuse that he 
did not hear. This excuse seemed to me, in view 
of the samples of his employer’s yells, slightly sar- 
castic. But if there was no help for it, and he had 
to face the music, the keeper said he had long since 
