THE SPORTSMAN IN FRANCE. 245 



ffood double, of fourteen bore, will answer 

 every purpose. Every kind of wild-fowl 

 are in such nupabers, that shots at forty 

 or fifty yards are to be had as fast as the 

 sportsman can load. The marshes at 

 Abbeville are dotted with huts in the 

 winter, in which the fowlers ensconce 

 themselves during the night ; they are both 

 air and water-tight ; and by the help of 

 straw, blankets, great coats, and a bottle 

 of Cognac cum cigars, the enthusiastic 

 amateur may contrive to keep the cold 

 out. I have on more than one occasion 

 deserted my virtuous bed, and indulged 

 in a little horizontal shooting with my 

 friend Isidore Lefort on a moon-light 

 night. On these occasions the duck-gun 

 is indispensable; but the unambitious 

 duck-shooter will find quite enough em- 

 ployment during the day to satisfy any 

 reasonable being without breaking in 

 upon his slumbers by packing himself 



