DRIVING 135 



Why dwell on such a day ? We will not, nor need 

 we mention it, but that I think it helps to give the 

 other days their value. And as the sun will not always 

 shine, nor the wind always blow right, nor birds 

 always come to you, neither can we, any of us, always 

 be in tiptop form. Have you not often heard said, or 

 said yourself, ' I have found out what I was doing 

 with those guns all last week, I was shooting in front 

 of everything ' ? and then added, but not out loud, 

 ' Ah ! I shall never miss again.' Fond and fatal 

 delusion ! You are really shooting more in front 

 than last week, for you are fitter ; but on your days 

 of ' rheum and cholick ' you will shoot ' in front of 

 everything' many a time again. The man who makes 

 the most even performance is he who lives for it, and 

 his is the greater certainty and the greater reputation. 



Here a word or two to my young readers. Many 

 a time have I left London, as I hope they will, for a 

 real good week at a place where I was most keen 

 to excel. Unconsciously excited from the start, my 

 keenness has increased as I sniffed the glorious air of 

 a good game country on arrival. Bright eyes and 

 cheerful company, '74 champagne, '40 port, and '20 

 brandy, to the accompaniment of reminiscences of 

 flood and field, of hopes and anticipations and record- 

 breaking bags, have sufficed to raise the fluid in my 



