There was something pleasing about the old familiar name for the
gamekeeper--"Velveteens": but it has been dropped almost completely,
because no longer appropriate. In the old times all gamekeepers were
clad in ample coats of velveteen. To-day, for one in velveteen you
may see a hundred in tweeds. And it is only the Cockney who calls the
keeper "Velveteens" to his face--thereby putting him on his dignity at
the least, if not insulting him. The old-time coat was pleasant to the
eye, so long as it was kept unspotted by rain. But its bloom departed
after a few minutes' exposure to a generous shower, and no amount of
drying or brushing would bring it back. Moreover, the shirt of the
man beneath the coat would probably suffer also from the wetting. The
best of velveteen was its thorn-resisting qualities. Tweeds resist
rain besides the thorns--the thick, heavy, closely-woven tweeds of the
neutral brown tint that are now the fashion for keepers' clothes. It
is a long time before they can be thoroughly wetted--and the keeper's
wife will tell you it is as long before they can be thoroughly dried.
They have two drawbacks--if made to fit closely and well they are
uncomfortable for shooting until almost worn out; and they are too hot
and heavy for summer wear. Employers would be investing profitably if
they allowed their keepers, instead of the one suit a year, a summer
and a winter suit. Comfort in dress makes a wonderful difference in
the keeper's work; hence the keeper's affection for his oldest things
and his scorn of appearances. His old breeches and gaiters become part
of himself. A keeper who always donned trousers on Sunday invariably
wore the old gaiters beneath them so that his legs might feel properly
encased.
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