PARTRIDGES, PHEASANTS, HARES, ETC. 91 



rarely go at any pace, while many also assert that that which 

 they offer in the open is but little better. With this, however, 

 we cannot agree, for shooting them when bowling full speed 

 across the fields is one of the highest tests of marksmanship, 

 and only a really good shot will kill them well ; that is, laid out 

 stone dead with no squalling, kicking, or wounds to be found 

 more than a few inches behind the shoulder ; and wherever 

 anyone standing at a cover-side, out of which the hares are 

 being driven across the open, is seen to bowl over a good few 

 in this style, he may at once be put down as a good shot. 



We well remember the laughter which arose one evening 

 in the dining-room of an old house in Perthshire, after a 

 long day's tramp in line for white hares. The ladies having 

 joined us at lunch, two of them insisted on walking with the 

 guns. Each lassie selected her laddie, and off we went ; but 

 an hour of it soon satisfied the two ladies, so that the whole 

 party did not meet again till dinner-time ; then, to break a 

 deadly pause in talk, one of the ladies innocently said to her 

 host, " Oh ! do tell me why all the hares Mr. A. shot kicked 

 and cried so piteously, while all those Mr. B. killed never even 

 moved." A. was a guardsman with a large fortune, and B. 

 was only a subaltern in " the common army " ; but A., a 

 thorough good fellow, was the first to break the silence, to 

 lead the laugh against himself, which, as the whole party were 

 close friends, could not be suppressed. 



A hare shot at broadside on should be kept in view as long 

 as possible, for, like deer, they will sometimes run a good 

 distance though shot through the heart. As for shooting at 

 them running off end on, a good man will not make the 

 attempt if they are over thirty yards away ; but the bad one 

 always tries this sort of shot at any distance, a broken hind leg 

 being frequently the result, and a long chase with the retriever 

 may or may not add it to the bag. 



And, oh ! for the retrievers to be met with in the field. 

 Certainly, seven out of ten are worthless, except for picking up 



