INFLUENCE OF FIELD SPORTS ON CHARACTER. loi 



Walton, Davy, as instances. Is there not a very gentle spirit 

 breathing through them ? What is there rude or coarse or harsh 

 in the true fisher ? Is he not light and delicate, and do not his 

 words and actions fall as softly as his flies ? 



Shooting is of two kinds, which, without incorrectness, may 

 be termed wild and tame. Of tame shooting the tamest, in 

 every sense of the word, is pigeon-shooting ; but as this is 

 admittedly not sport, and as its principal feature is that it is a 

 medium for gambling, or, at least, for the winning of money 

 prizes or silver cups, it may be passed over in a few words. It 

 undoubtedly requires skill, and encourages rapidity of eye and 

 quickness of action ; but its influence on character depends 

 solely on its essential selfishness, and the taint which it bears 

 from the ' filthy ' effect of ' lucre.' 



Other tame shooting is battue shooting, where luxuriously 

 clad men, who have breakfasted at any hour between ten and 

 twelve, and have been driven to their coverts in a comfortable 

 conveyance, stand in a sheltered corner with cigarettes in their 

 mouths, and shoot tame pheasants and timid hares for about 

 three hours and a half, varying the entertainment by a hot lunch, 

 and a short walk from beat to beat. Two men stand behind 

 each sportsman with breechloaders of the quickest action, and 

 the only drawback to the gunner's satisfaction is that he is 

 obliged to waste a certain time between his shots in cocking the 

 gun which he has taken from his loader. This cannot but be 

 enervating in its influence. Everything, except the merest action 

 of pointing the piece and pulling the trigger, is done for you. 

 You are conveyed probably to the very place where you are to 

 stand ; the game is driven right up to you ; what you shoot is 

 picked up for you ; your gun itself is loaded by other hands ; 

 you have no difficulty in finding your prey ; you have no satis- 

 faction in outwitting the wiliness of bird or beast ; you have 

 nothing whatever except the pleasure — minimised by constant 

 repetition — of bringing down a ' rocketter,' or stopping a rabbit 

 going full speed across a ride. 



The moral of this is that it is not necessary to do anything 

 for yourself, that some one will do everything for you, probably 

 better than you would, and that all you have to do is to leave 

 everything to some person whom you trust. Or, again, it is, get 

 the greatest amount of effect with the least possible personal 

 exertion. Stand still, and opportunities will come on you like 

 pheasants — all you have to do is to seize them. 



