146 WARWICK WOODLANDS. 



Brower just run up, Brower, and bring down my shooting 

 jacket off the wall from behind the door look sharp, will you ! 

 Now, then, I shall load, and I advise you both to do likewise ; 

 for it's bad work doing that same with cold fingers." 



Thus saying, he walked to the corner, and brought out his 

 rifle, a short heavy double barrel, with two grooves only, carry- 

 ing a bitted ball of twelve to the pound, quite plain but ex- 

 quisitely finished. Before proceeding, however, to load, he tried 

 the passage of the nipple with a fine needle three or four of 

 which, thrust into a cork, and headed with sealing wax, formed 

 a portion of the contents of his pouch brushed the cone, and 

 the inside of the hammer, carefully, and wiped them, to con* 

 elude, with a small piece of clean white kid then measuring 

 his powder out exactly, into a little charger, screwed to the end 

 of his ramrod, he inverted the piece, and introduced the rod 

 upward till the cup reached the chamber ; when, righting the 

 gun, he withdrew it, leaving the powder all lodged safely at the 

 breech, without the loss of a single grain in the groovings. Next, 

 he chose out a piece of leather, the finest grained kid, without 

 a seam or wrinkle, slightly greased with the best watch-maker's 

 oil selected a ball perfectly round and true laid the patch 

 upon the muzzle, and placing the bullet exactly in the centre 

 over the bore, buried it with a single rap of a small lignum vitse 

 mallet, which hung from his button-hole ; -and then, with but a 

 trifling effort, drove it home by one steady thrust of the stout 

 copper-headed charging rod. This done, he again inspected the 

 cone, and seeing that the powder was forced quite up into sight, 

 picked out, with the same anxious scrutiny that had marked all 

 of his proceedings, a copper cap, which he pronounced sure to 

 go, applied it to the nipple, crushed it down firmly, with the 

 hammer, which he then drew back to half-cock, and bolted. 

 Then he set the piece down by the fireside, drained his hot jorum, 

 and 



" That fellow will do his work, and no mistake/' said he. 



" Now A , here is my single gun " handing to him, as he 



spoke, one of the handsomest Westley Richards a sportsman 

 ever handled " thirty-three inches, nine pounds and eleven 

 gauge. Put in one-third above that charger, which is its usual 

 load, and one of those green cartridges, and I'll be bound that 

 it will execute at eighty paces ; and that is more than Master 

 Frank there can say for his Manton Rifle, at least if he loads it 



