187 



CHAPTER XV. 



WOODCOCKS AGAIN, 



AT one time in the Lews the woodcock 

 shooting was very good. F. M. on his 

 shootings, and I on mine, followed it np most 

 zealously, and we have often agreed it was some 

 of the best fun we ever had in our lives. There 

 was one particular year when he killed 550 

 woodcocks at Aline and over the Harris ground 

 adjoining, which was very good, and I killed 

 350 at Soval. One day he killed thirty-seven, 

 which was the most I ever knew killed any one 

 day. Shortly after I was out on my pet Dalbeg 

 ground, when I think I had the best day's sport 

 I ever had in my life — fifty-seven head of difier- 

 ent sorts on a short December day, thirty-one 

 of which were woodcocks. I knew I had killed 

 a good many, but was astonished, while heartily 

 devouring a bit of luncheon, to find I had over 

 twenty considerably, and a famous bit of ground 

 to beat yet. " By Jove ! we'll beat Fred," I 

 said. And so I ought to have done, for, with 



