1831.] the First of September. 403 



my charge, with such strong asseverations of my superior skill, that I 

 in a short time considered him to be a miracle of honesty, and when he 

 complained of his ill-luck, I thought I was bound to make him most 

 liberal amends. JMy fame increased wonderfully, till one day, at the 

 house of a neighbouring squire, whom my fi-iend, the keeper, had 

 assured me was not half so good a shot as myself, a dispute arose as to 

 who was the best ; that I was sufficiently certain of, and offered to bet— • 

 I tremble to think of the sum — that I would bag more game in a certain 

 time than he could. The conditions were, that his keeper should proceed 

 with me, and mine with him, that each should have the same chance of 

 fair play. I was going to demur about the absence of my faithful servant, 

 but I considered that one keeper must do as well as another, and was 

 satisfied. Every thing was arranged, and we started off in different 

 directions, exactly at the same hour. The man who went with me was 

 not at all prepossessing in his appearance — an old, stiff, ostrich-legged 

 sort of person, who looked as if he lived upon cast-iron. He was as 

 taciturn as a sign-post, and moved as mechanically as an automaton. 

 We had not proceeded far, before, with the usual rustling of wings, up 

 rose a hen pheasant, and immediately afterwards the cock followed ; 

 my senses must have been distracted between the two, for I fired at 

 both, but unfortunately killed neither. I felt a little chagrined, and 

 looked at my companion, while he was loading, but his countenance 

 was innocent of all expression. We went on — my dogs started a hare 

 — I slapped at him with both barrels, and waited to see him drop ; but 

 on he went as if nothing had happened, and turned into a coppice. I 

 called back the dogs in no very good temper, but my silent friend did 

 not seem to notice any thing. I proceeded, and met with the same ill- 

 luck wherever I went. I shot at numbers of pheasants, without so 

 much as inconveniencing one of their feathers, and kept firing away at 

 hares, without disarranging the order of their tails. I began to think 

 it very odd. Still the features of my untalkative companion kept their 

 vacancy undisturbed. The time now was nearly concluded, and I had 

 not bagged any thing. The last field came to be crossed. It was full 

 of furze, and I knew it to be the resort of hares and rabbits innumer- 

 able. I had gone a little way, when I saw something move among the 

 bushes, which I was certain could be nothing else but a hare. I took a 

 good aim, and fired. To my infinite horror I heard a melancholy howl, 

 a few short barks, and then my favourite spaniel crawled out, and lay 

 dead at my feet. I was just on the point of shedding tears at this 

 unhappy incident, when I was startled by a tremendous noise close by 

 me : 1 turned round, and saw my hitherto mute companion indulging in 

 a strain of laughter that drowned even the reports of my competitor's 

 gun, which were now becoming nearer. The end of it was, that my anta- 

 gonist had met with the most excellent sj)ort. IMy keeper was loaded, 

 and several boys followed him, bearing as much game as they could 

 carry. He was in high spirits, and praised the excellence of my pre- 

 serves, with a voluliility of tongue which kept me dumb. When my 

 companion came u]), and was desired to j)roduce the result of my day's 

 sj)()rt, lie twisted liis mouth into a most cliabolical grin, and opened the 

 game-bag, where I thought there was nothing ; but to my utter despair 

 the unfeeling villain hawled out by his tail, the remains of my liaplcss 

 spaniel. What could be said after that ! " Where should Othello go ? ' 

 This setllt'd n)y love ol" sport. I dischaigctl my kee[)cr witliuut any 



