ON SHOOTING. 189 



chauffeur and loader are accommodated without incon- 

 venience or comment are no longer so numerous as to be 

 probable sources of anxiety in your case.) There is no harm 

 in taking two guns, but you will be wise not to use them unless 

 others of the party are similarly equipped. Your loader can 

 be of service as a cartridge carrier, or a stop, or in any capacity 

 to assist your host. Remember, an extra man in the house 

 has to be fed and conveyed from and to the station. 



Some hosts object strongly to visiting dogs, and, consider- 

 ing the behaviour of certain of the latter, such objection 

 cannot be deemed unreasonable. Apart from the annoy- 

 ance caused by their conduct in the field or, worse still, the 

 covert, their nocturnal serenades are not conducive to slumber. 

 A dog may be quiet enough at home, reserving his vocal 

 efforts for visits. In a full house somebody's room is sure to 

 overlook the outbuilding whence proceed Jet's ululations. 

 If in doubt, ask whether he will be welcome, and if you take 

 him, see to his feeding yourself. I can still recall, after a 

 lapse of nearly twenty years, the grating noise made by a 

 certain retriever gnawing stones under my window. His 

 owner, Irish and forgetful, seldom fed or housed him, but was, 

 unfortunately, himself a sound-proof sleeper. 



If in doubt ask, in course of the day's shooting, when by 

 doing so you will save your host trouble. Remember he 

 has, unless he be of the " leave-all-to-my-keeper " kind, a 

 great deal to carry in his head. Ask before taking your stand 

 what subsequent operation is intended. Thus, not only 

 trouble but noise will be avoided ; look to your host for 

 signals and do not form one of a band discussing, e.g., the price 

 of stocks, oblivious to the real business of the day. When 

 grousedriving, ascertain the system on which butts are 

 changed, i.e., whether moving up or down is the rule, and 

 what " up " or " down " means. Do not grumble if yours 

 is a flank butt ; the position has many compensations, 

 especially for the gun on the down-wind flank in anything 

 like a cross-wind ; also, if you shoot well, the flanker can, and 

 probably will, help you considerably. Do not wait to get 

 into your butt till birds begin to come over ; there are plenty 

 of opportunities for conversation elsewhere than " on the 

 hill." After a covert-shooting beat, when asked by your 



