A SrORTSMAX OF THE OLD SCHOOL. 37 



disgraced the table of a Scottish laird, and this concluded 

 I was on the qui vive to commence the day's shooting. 

 This, however, was delayed for a short time by the squire 

 being occupied with agricultural business with his 

 bailiff. When he made his appearance fully equipped 

 for the field, I was not a little surprised to see him with 

 a single barrelled gun, apparently the size of a soldier's 

 firelock of that period, and the barrel at least a foot 

 longer than those of my own gun, the bore as large as 

 one for shooting wildfowl. On handling it, I found it 

 not so heavy as I expected. The stock had been made 

 by a London gunmaker, and the lock, which was par^ 

 ticularly well finished, by the same. Mr. Grirdlestone 

 told me that the barrel came from Berlin, that he would 

 say nothing of its merit, as he expected I should soon be 

 an eye-witness of its performance. In the first field we 

 came to the dogs pointed, a strong covey rose, I shot a 

 bird, but my companion did not fire ; on inquiring the 

 reason, he said the birds were too near, and when they 

 crossed over the hedge he lost sight of them. Shortly 

 after a single bird rose at about thirty yards ; I fired 

 both barrels and missed ; then the old squire coolly put 

 up the great gun to his shoulder, and brought the bird 

 down as dead as a stone. The distance from where we 

 stood to where it fell must have been at least seventy 

 yards. He gave me a triumphant look and said, " This 

 is my system of partridge shooting ; you have now had 

 a specimen of what these Grerman barrels can perform : " 

 adding, " It is now several years since I have shot with 

 your double barrelled popguns." During the few days I 

 remained with my hospitable friend, he adhered to this 

 practice of killing the birds at great distances, and 

 rarely allowed them to escape, and evidently derived 



