THE' PARTRIDGE. 107 



as he did upon the first. At one of these his gun flashed 

 three times, without its attempting- to move ; after which 

 he drew the charge, loaded again, and killed it. The 

 dog, all the time, was barking and baying with the great- 

 est perseverance. " There is, in fact, no limits," he 

 says, " to the stupidity of these creatures ; and it is by 

 no means unusual, on finding a whole covey on a tree 

 in autumn, to begin by shooting the bird which happens 

 to sit lowest, and then to drop the one above him, and 

 so on till all are killed." 



