240 A BATTUE. 



listen when at a distance of about sixty yards ; 

 but that instant was fatal to the male, as a ball 

 from the Meer's Purdey crushed through his 

 brain. The does were allowed to escape, as the 

 Meer rarely fires at females. The nearer the 

 line of beaters approached, the more fi^equently 

 did the game appear; and at about eleven a.m., 

 the beaters having closed up, the Meer left off 

 shooting. His Highness' bag was a very fair 

 one, four Paras and about a dozen large hogs. 

 Meer Ali Moorad is undoubtedly a splendid 

 shot, but shooting of this kind requires no skill 

 whatever, as the sportsman sits in perfect safety, 

 and some of the animals are shot when standing, 

 or moving so slowly that it is next to impossible 

 for a good shot to miss one ; sometimes indeed 

 the Meer shoots hog with a long pistol, but occa- 

 sionally I have seen him make splendid shots at 

 deer when darting so rapidly between trees as 

 to be scarcely visible. After the battue had 

 terminated we returned, or rather proceeded 

 onward, to the tents, which had been sent to a 

 shady grove about four miles from Nauchee. 

 On our way the Meer promised us some good 

 sport with his boar-hounds in the evening, of 

 which I shall presently give a description. 



