FOR YOUNG SHOOTERS 31 



once said, with a sigh, on hearing that someone 

 would have been one hundred and fifty years old if 

 he had been alive at the present day) he must be 

 'a orfle old angel now/ The word 'lunch' is 

 short, crisp, and appetising. The word 'luncheon' 

 is of a certain pomposity, which, though it may 

 suit the mansions of the great, is out of place 

 when applied to the meals of active sportsmen. 

 So we will continue, if you please, to speak of 

 'lunch.' And now for your question. My charm- 

 ing Eose, this little treatise does not profess to do 

 anything more than teach young sportsmen how 

 to converse. I assume that they have learnt 

 shooting from other instructors. And as to the 

 details of shooting-parties, how they should be 

 composed, what they should do or avoid, and how 

 they should bear themselves generally the subject 

 is too great, too solemn, too noble to be entered 

 upon with a light heart. At any rate, that is not 

 my purpose here. It was rude very rude of 

 Fred to say you were a bore and I am sure it 

 wasn't true. I can picture you tripping daintily 

 along with your pretty companions to the lunch 

 rendezvous. You are dressed in a perfectly fitting, 

 tailor-made dress, cut short in the skirt, and dis- 



