10 EEMINISCEXCES OF A SPORTSMAN. 



campaign ? Does it verify the old proverb, " that the 

 early bird takes the worm ? " By no means ! Eeally you 

 experience scarcely anything but disappointment and a 

 light bag. Until nine or ten o'clock the ground is wet, 

 the birds on the feed, consequently shy and wild, and the 

 dogs, if they have not had previously sufficient work, un- 

 steady. I strongly recommend to all young sportsmen 

 not to commence their fost day's partridge shooting till 

 nine or ten o'clock ; the ground is by that time dry and 

 warm, the birds are off their feed and will then lie w^ell 

 to the dogs. The only sufficient reason for going out 

 early in the morning is when you have some distant 

 farms to shoot over, which are not preserved, and over 

 which other sportsmen have a right to shoot.* In the 

 few first days, it is an important object to be on your 

 shooting ground before your rival sportsmen, especially 

 if the farms should be situated a short distance from a 

 town, from which they may sally forth early in the 

 morning with dogs and gun. How worthless are many 

 of the enjoyments of this life without an old friend to 

 share them with you. But when birds are shy, and do 

 not lie well, you may lose a few shots from talking, and 



* Many years ago, 1 had leave to sport over a farm of Mr. L. "W. Pole's, 

 now Earl of Moruingtou. It consisted of seven or eight hundi-ed acres 

 of arable land on which there was good partridge shooting. I arrived 

 at the house of the tenant about ten o'clock early in September. He 

 received me in a friendly way, and assured me there were plenty of bii'ds, 

 and hoped I shoidd have good sport. But alas ! I beat patiently and 

 closely with my pointers for several hours over the farm, and to my 

 great annoyance found only a few straggling bii'ds, and returned home 

 with almost an empty game bag. I was too old a sportsman not to feel 

 certain there had been some foid play, and afterwards ascertained that 

 the tenant had two sporting fi'iends stapng with him fi'om London, who 

 had early that morning shot over the farm, and had either killed or 

 driven away the- birds. 



