NO LACK OF SrORT. 'l 1 



out piecemeal, execrating puss, me, the briars ; but swear- 

 ing to his comfort that he had killed the hare, which, how- 

 ever was fields away, and none the worse. The end of all 

 was, that, the game being thin, he took to shooting black- 

 birds, and we parted ; and in the evening joined and re- 

 turned home : I with two brace of birds and a hare ; and 

 he with a bird, three blackbirds, and a thrush, but full of 

 ardour, and exclaiming about the honne citasse we had 

 had. The single bird would grow into a hare on the mor- 

 row", and two brace the next day, and so go on, like New- 

 ton's law, increasing with the square of distance. 



Britanny is naturally w^ell fitted for sporting. Plenty of 

 arable land, broom, and furze for partridge and hares ; fine 

 woods, with tracks of meadow, sprinkled with marsh and 

 low bottoms, for woodcocks and snipes ; hill and heath for 

 rabbits, redlegs, and quail ; a few wild fowl, and a scatter- 

 ing of wolves and wild boars : these make up a pretty 

 bouquet of attractions for the sporting man. Neither 

 pheasants nor grouse exist in it, which is a pity, as the 

 many beech and oak w^oods would shelter the one, and the 

 heath-covered moors nourish the other. As in all par- 

 tially cultivated countries, the game is hard to find, and a 

 heavy bag is not to be had ; but to the true sportsman that 

 is not the great charm. The healthy excitement — the 

 enjoyment of nature — the roaming unrestrainetl — the in- 

 terest in your dogs — snatches of reflection — the memories 

 of the past, and the hopes of the future — these are the real 

 pleasures of the sportsman : the other is the pot and cup- 

 board feeling of the poulterer. 



The almost unlimited liberty of traversing the country is a 



