8o A Book Of the Snipe. 



matter, for a bank is a bank to a snipe, no 

 matter from what airt blows the breeze, — 

 an obstruction to be hurtled over faster 

 than ever tennis-ball skimmed the net from 

 the racket of Renshaw. There is a delight- 

 ful experience, too, which is peculiarly the 

 property of the down-wind shooter, and that 

 is when a couple of birds spring simultan- 

 eously in front of him, and make off in 

 exactly opposite directions. It is on these 

 occasions that a "right-and-left" is something 

 more than a figure of speech, and a com- 

 placent smirk may be forgiven the artist 

 who accomplishes it, as he watches his dog 

 trot off to pick up birds that lie stone- 

 dead, *' at the extremities of the diameter 

 of a circle of which you are the centre," as 

 a mathematical gunner (peace to his soul ! 

 he died on Spion Kop) once expressed it. 



So much for the defence. Against this 

 method the only thing to be urged is the 

 fact that the snipe are far more likely to 

 hear the sound of your approach as you 

 advance upon them down -wind than if you 



