632 Iktngs of tbe 1Rofc, 1Rtfle t anfc un 



grass before the scythe ! Then came the Rnfield, which 

 completely eclipsed the Minie*. With that weapon in 

 their hands the English regulars and volunteers were 

 held to be as formidable as the terrible archers who won 

 Crecy and Agincourt with the long-bow. A marvellous 

 rifle indeed ! What an arm of precision at long ranges ! 

 I remember the shooting of the Suffolk Volunteers for 

 the Ipswich Cup in September, 1860, five rounds at 650, 

 700, 800, and 900 yards. Out of sixty shots fired at the 

 900 yards range three struck the target ! The winner's 

 score was 12 points out of a possible 40 ! A wonderful 

 rifle, truly, was that long Enfield ! 



But to come to Wimbledon and its heroes. I wonder 

 how many there are still living of those who saw the 

 Queen fire the first shot, which opened the inaugural 

 meeting of the National Rifle Association, and score 

 a bull's-eye at 400 yards with the carefully laid and 

 sighted Whitworth. Sir John Charles Bucknill (he was 

 then only plain Doctor Bucknill, of the County Lunatic 

 Asylum at Exeter), the Father of modern Volunteering, 

 died but three years ago. I remember seeing his huge 

 form at that first Wimbledon meeting and hearing the 

 oft-told tale of the famous shot with which he inaugurated 

 the butts he had been allowed to erect on the estate of 

 the Earl of Devon. He missed the target, but he hit, 

 fortunately in a fleshy part of her person, an old woman 

 who was hoeing potatoes on the other side of the hill. 

 People lifted their hands in amazement at the miraculous 

 skill of these new riflemen who could hit objects they 

 could not see ! 



But though he was not a brilliant rifle-shot, Dr. 



