THE SPORTSMA.N IN FRANCE. 149 



des Etrangers, it having been forwarded 

 to me from Abbeville. I was therefore 

 afforded an opportunity of trying it 

 against M. Lepage's supernaculums, and 

 found it shot quite as well as the William 

 Moore I had with me ; better it could not. 

 I had several learned conversations with 

 Monsieur Lepage on the subject of guns 

 and gun-making, and I found him, when 

 alone, a very reasonable person. 



He very candidly acknowledged that 

 the workmanship and material of the 

 English guns were superior to anything 

 he could produce. He is a clever and an 

 enterprising mechanic, and has taken in- 

 finite pains to make himself a proficient 

 in his craft. 



There is one point to which he pays 

 particular attention, and that is the exact 

 proportion of charge suited to each gun 

 that he sells — this is an example well 

 worthy of imitation by our own makers. 

 My own observation and experience 



