DRIVING 283 



and the rain fell. Right manfully did 

 the keeper struggle on against adversity, 

 though all to no purpose ; every covey that 

 rose was swept across the boundary over 

 the beaters' heads, and no handling of the 

 birds was possible. .After lunch the host 

 called for the keeper, to discuss whether 

 any further shooting was worth while. 

 But the keeper was not forthcoming, 

 and it was only after a prolonged search 

 that he was discovered dead drunk and 

 peacefully slumbering in the seclusion 

 of a ditch. Let it not be imputed to 

 him for a sin ; he was a temperate man 

 in the ordinary walks of life, only the 

 trials of the morning had proved too 

 much to bear, and obliged to own himself 

 defeated, he had sought and found a 

 merciful oblivion in the best part of a 

 bottle of neat whisky. Without wishing 

 to advocate such extreme measures, it 

 may be said that the success of the day 

 very largely depends on the organizer 

 taking his duties seriously. 



Another natural and insidious error 



