222 EEMINISCENCES OF A SPORTSMAN". 



brook or rill which supplies the pond at some distance 

 from it : some portion of this will be carried by the 

 current into the decoy, and in an instant the fowl, how- 

 ever numerous, quit, and will not resume their haunt 

 until every taint is removed. 



It is a pleasing sight to see on a fine sheet of water, 

 in a nobleman or gentleman's park, numerous wild fowl, 

 some on the water, and others taking circuitous flights, 

 as may be seen from the ancient mansion of my old 

 friend Sir Charles Knightley, Bart., at Fawsley, North- 

 amptonshire. A gun is never allowed to be fired near 

 this piece of water ; and the wild ducks, widgeon 

 and teal remaining quiet and unmolested, become, 

 comparatively speaking, tame, and you may walk within 

 a short distance of the water without the wild fowl 

 taking flight. The Baronet's table is well supplied with 

 wild fowl, which the gamekeepers shoot in the adjacent 

 marl pits and small rivulets. A wild duck when fat 

 and in good condition is a most excellent bird ; and to 

 make them more palatable, cut each side of the breast 

 into small slices, and put a small quantity of cayenne 

 pepper between them, and squeeze some of the juice 

 of a lemon on them. A wild duck also makes an 

 excellent devU. It is a very easy bird to shoot, as they 

 fly straight and not very fast. Foxes have been known 

 to be very successful in catching wild fowl at night in a 

 decoy, when the birds approach to the margin of the 

 water. To effect this he lies perfectly motionless on 

 the bank of the pond, as if dead, and when the birds 

 come unconsciously within reach he makes his spring, 

 and seldom fails to secure a good supper. Birds of prey 

 are also sometimes a great annoyance to a decoy, by 

 alarming and driving away the wild fowl. 



