Rabbit Shooting. 97 



To us came Topsawyer, and three assistants ; a hearty red-faced, white- 

 haired giant of sixty was he, in regulation velveteens. He shook hands 

 all round, dispensed a glass of sparkling ale, and led the way to the coverts. 

 These were very convenient ones, broken up with good wide rides into 

 about four or five acre strips, with plenty of brambles here and there, 

 and plenty of bracken here and there, and the trees not too thick, so that we 

 could scramble through without great difficulty; two or three guns were 

 posted so as to head the game in places where there was a chance of its 

 breaking away. Then Mr. Topsawyer produced from one of his capacious 

 pockets one of the prettiest little beagles I ever saw, about fifteen inches 

 long, and seven or eight inches high, and out of his other pocket another, 

 as did his three aids, and four couple of the nicest, smartest little hounds 

 I ever saw frisked round Topsawyer' s gaiters. He was very proud of 

 these Little beauties, and after we had petted them, and admired them a bit, 

 we made into covert, and T. S. dismissed his little pack with a wave. 

 " Hi ! in, then, my beauties ! Hi ! find him my pretties ! " and the little 

 pack dashed in with a verve and style that did one good to see, feathering 

 and questing about to and fro, here, there, everywhere. 



" Yow, yow." 



" Hark to Countess — good bitch — hark, Countess ! " 



" Yow-ow-yow-ow-ow-ow-ow," and away the little creatures paddled 

 their fastest after the first bunny, with the most musical bell-like peal 

 I ever heard. "Bang!" and bunny's career was cut short by one of the 

 party ; but in less than a minute they were on another, which hadn't run 

 fifty yards, when he, too, was bowled over. Then they started a hare, 

 " Kill him aUve, my beauties, kill him alive !" shouted Topsawyer, when 

 the hare suddenly turned and came across me, and I had an opportunity 

 of distinguishing myself, which I did accordingly. Then the fun grew 

 fast and furious. 



" Yow-ow-ow-ow-ow." 



" Hold him and hunt him, my pretties ; kill him alive then— kill him 

 alive" — bang ! bang ! bang ! 



Every now and then a pheasant or two, or three, went rushing up among 

 the trees. It was counted a high crime and naisdemeanour to point at one. 



Q 



