24 CONVERSATIONAL HINTS 



he shot eighteen hundred birds, you can say that 

 most people fixed the figure at fifteen hundred. 

 He will then say, ' Ah, I know most people seem 

 to have got that notion I don't know why. As a 

 matter of fact, I managed to get eighteen hundred 

 and two, and they picked up twenty-two on the 

 following morning.' Your obvious remark is, ' By 

 Jove ! ' (with a strong emphasis on the ' by ') 

 c what magnificent shooting ! ' After that, the 

 thing runs along of its own accord. With a bad 

 shot your method is, of course, quite different. 

 For example : 



Young Shot. I must say I like the old style of 

 walking up your birds better than driving, espe- 

 cially in a country like this. I never saw such 

 difficult birds as we had this morning. You seemed 

 to have the worst of the luck everywhere. 



Bad Shot. Yes they didn't come my way 

 much. But I don't get much practice at this kind 

 of thing and a man's no good without practice. 



Y. S. That was a deuced long shot, all the 

 same, that you polished off in the last drive. 

 When I saw him coming at about a hundred miles 

 an hour, I thanked my stars he wasn't my bird. 

 What a thump he fell ! 



