PARTRIDGE-SHOOTING 215 



strange part of the country, and you will 

 be amazed to see how quickly he will find 

 his bearings, how naturally he will spot 

 the likely places for a head of game. You 

 would scarcely believe that he had never 

 seen the place before ; yet there is 

 nothing really wonderful about his per- 

 formance, only he knows something of the 

 habits of beasts and birds, and attaches a 

 meaning to all the simple little details 

 which pass unnoticed by the unobservant. 

 In the ordered sequence of a regular 

 'shoot/ the working of this faculty is 

 not so evident ; only the good shot as 

 one would like to call him, though the 

 term has of late been limited in common 

 parlance to imply mere accuracy with the 

 gun seems always to be getting more 

 than his fair share of the shooting. 

 When you hear it commonly said of 

 any one, " Oh, X is an extraordinarily 

 lucky fellow, the birds always go to him," 

 you may rest assured that the true reason 

 lies less in chance than in a keen apprecia- 

 tion of opportunity. 



