THE COMMON PARTRIDGE. 99 



" The bet between Mr William Coke and Lord 

 Kennedy, was for 200 sovereigns a-side, play or pay, 

 who shot and bagged the greatest number of par- 

 tridges in two days sporting ; both parties to shoot 

 on the same days, the 26th of September 1823, and 

 the 4th of October in the same season. Mr William 

 Coke to sport upon his uncle's manors in Norfolk ; 

 and Lord Kennedy in any part of Scotland he pleased. 

 The result of Mr Coke's first day's shooting was 

 eighty and a half brace of birds bagged. On Satur- 

 day, October 4, Mr W. Coke took the field soon af- 

 ter six o'clock in the morning ; he was accompanied 

 by his uncle, T. W. Coke, Esq. M. P., and by two 

 umpires ; Colonel Dixon for Mr Coke, and F. S. 

 Blunt, Esq. for Lord Kennedy ; also by two of his 

 friends, Sir H. Goodrich, Bart., and F. Hollyhocke, 

 Esq. He was attended by several gamekeepers, 

 and by one dog only, to pick up the game. Several 

 respectable neighbouring yeomen volunteered their 

 services in assisting to beat for game, and rendered 

 essential service throughout the day. Mr Coke 

 sported over part of the Wigton and Egmere manors. 

 The morning was foggy, and the turnips were so wet 

 that the birds would not lie among them. Very little 

 execution was done, in consequence, in the early part 

 of the day ; in the two first hours only six brace of 

 birds were bagged. The day cleared up after eight 

 o'clock, and the sportsman amply made up for his 

 lost time. He found birds plentiful among Mi- 

 Denny's fine crop of turnips on the Egmere farm, 





