GENERAL REMARKS 15 



few yards in front of the offender, and then staring hard while 

 reloading, flash forth looks that are tantamount to saying : 

 "There! take that, you duffer!" 



If one cannot secure a change in positions and all hints are 

 thrown away, a modus vivendi may be arranged by agreeing to 

 take it in turns to shoot ; this sort of work cannot, however, be 

 called a pleasant day's sport, and of course in good company it 

 could never happen ; but two wrongs do not make a right, and 

 we are of opinion that when a well-trained sportsman is placed 

 between two duffers, he should not forget his code of honour, 

 however great the provocation. 



We have assumed in the foregoing cases that the offenders 

 sin entirely from ignorance ; but at times we have seen two 

 good shots urged by a host to punish a jealous man who has 

 established for himself a notorious reputation as a wilful offender 

 and jealous shot. The sinner is placed between his executioners 

 at a stand where there will be plenty of birds, when both con- 

 centrating their skill entirely on all game coming to the culprit, 

 the double fire rarely fails to demoralize him, and by the time 

 the beat is over he will have had his lesson, and a second one 

 on that particular shooting will never be required. It is a dis- 

 agreeable performance to have to incite friends to take part in, 

 and it may be thought it would be better not to invite the 

 jealous man at all ; but occasionally it happens he is a neigh- 

 bour with whom it is for many reasons desirable to keep good 

 friends, and who is a real good fellow in all other ways. 



There are numbers of gentlemen who preserve largely, and 

 have numerous shooting parties, but who do not really care for 

 the sport, and know but little about it. They are fond of a 

 country life, and like to see their friends about them and give 

 them some shooting; but they do not know their own "marches," 

 and could not direct the beating of their own covers, or even 

 place the guns, for they have no idea where all the various 

 rides in a wood begin, end, or lead to. These are the gentle- 

 men who are almost sure to over-gun their covers, for the more 



