3obn 1bolt, of ZTottcnbam 155 



other. He was a tall, robust, rubicund man, about sixty- 

 five years of age I should judge, and wore spectacles. 

 On my introducing myself to him, he said : 



" And so you're the young gentleman that wants to 

 buy a new gun, eh ! Well, can you shoot ? " 



I modestly said that I thought I could, a little. He 

 handed me the pea-rifle, and pointing to a tree in the 

 far corner of the garden, with a high railway embank- 

 ment rising behind it, he said : 



" Now, d'ye see that oyster shell stuck in the fork of 

 the branch ? Tis just a hundred paces from where you 

 stand. I've measured it. Let's see if you can hit it." 



I fired and missed. 



" Ha ! " said he, " now let me see what I can do." 

 With that he reloaded the rifle, fired, and the oyster 

 shell fell shattered. 



" Now let's see what you can do with a gun," said 

 this terrible old man. 



He handed me the double barrel, picked up a pebble 

 about the size of a golf-ball, and flung it into the air. 

 I fired and missed. 



" Ha ! " said he, with precisely the same formula, 

 "now let me see what I can do." 



I picked up a pebble, flung it into the air, and the 

 old man struck it so fair and square that it was split 

 into fragments. The gun was eighteen-gauge, and shot 

 very close and hard. 



I felt rather small after my own humiliating failure ; 

 but the miller's wife, a fine, big, comely, buxom woman, 

 came up to me, and clapping her hand on my shoulder, 

 said cheerily : 



