53 



homewards. AYhen it was quite dusk I heard a loud rushinor 

 noise above my head, and a covey passed over, making for a 

 favourite roosting-place close at hand. I had never fired 

 in the dark before, but I followed them, poking carefully 

 among the furze, and presently they rose. I fired at the 

 sound and ran up in hopes to find something on the ground, 

 but nothing was there, ancPl returned to Jean lookino- 

 rather foolish. As we followed tlie road, Belle kept pro- 

 vokingly close to my heels, and knocking against me and 

 making me angry with her. On turning round for the 

 third or fourth time to send her off, I thought I saw some- 

 thing odd about her head, and found that she had a par- 

 tridge in her mouth. She had stayed behind and picked 

 it up, when I with mere human faculties had found nothing. 

 And so ended the day's sport, which is a good type of a 

 day's sport in Britanny. True there was not much game ; 

 namely, a brace of hares, three brace of birds, a couple 

 of cocks, and a couple of snipes ; but there was a pleasant 

 variety, got with some trouble (without which nothing is 

 valuable), in a pretty country, and with no hard-featured 

 individual in fustian crying out, " Yo munna come o' this 

 side, as measter presarves." 



Very agreeable excursions may be made to country 

 places, where the game is less disturbed ; but it is necessary 

 to secure a good guide ; and, moreover, one who will faith- 

 fully tell the best haunts. Without this there will be much 

 work, and small sport. Of course the accommodation is 

 bad, but that is not much to the sportsman ; though I have 

 often wondered that the village auberges are as bad as 

 they are, the most miserable beer-shops in England being 



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