96 THE RABBIT 



be deprived of very much of its enjoyment, and a 

 day with spaniels or terriers on a furze-clad common 

 under similar circumstances would be rendered prac- 

 tically abortive. The supply of 'rabbit-pie' would 

 be dependent upon the commonplace efforts of the 

 warrener, and half the charm of a day with the gun 

 in the open would be gone. 



Who does not remember with feelings of pleasure 

 the day when, allowed for the first time to carry a gun 

 in company, his earliest efforts were directed towards 

 circumventing and slaying a ' bunny ' ? He was sure 

 of a find, he could choose his distance, and pick his 

 shot. Not only was the target a sufficiently large 

 one, but, unlike the whirring partridge, it travelled at 

 a speed sufficiently moderate to give time to aim, and 

 with a little practice the young sportsman soon got 

 into the way of handling his gun properly, and 

 swinging it well forward with the happiest result. 



The schoolboy home for the Christmas holidays 

 and taken out with a gun and ferret has good cause 

 to be grateful for the lessons taught him by the wily 

 rabbit, and if from inheritance, or choice, he possesses 

 the true sporting instinct, he will in after days look 

 with satisfaction upon his earliest efforts at rabbit- 

 shooting. Many will be the ' misses,' perhaps, and 

 few the ' hits,' but there is sport even in missing, and 



