lo A Book of the Snipe. 



No ! it can be said again, thankfully^ that 

 there is pleasure in all and every form of 

 shooting, so that I do not expect every one 

 to agree with me when I assert that snipe- 

 shooting is the best of all — the zenith, the 

 highest form of the art and pleasure deriv- 

 able from the use of the shot-gun. I confess 

 to being an enthusiast, but a little avowed 

 enthusiasm is not a bad thing in these days 

 of nil admirari. Many men are too busy ac- 

 quiring the means of pleasure to have time 

 to enjoy the pleasures themselves. Many 

 are too much possessed with the pose of 

 self-restraint to exhibit any of those little 

 weaknesses which are the salt of the earth 

 to those not ashamed to own to them. So 

 I had better, perhaps, attempt a short justi- 

 fication of my particular fondness for snipe- 

 shooting, to instil which into the reader, if he 

 has it not already, will be the object of these 

 humble chapters. 



It is presumed that the reader is at least 

 fond of shooting generally. If he is not, he 

 had better lay down these pages at once. 



