122 PRANK SCHLEY'S PARTRIDGE AND PHEASANT SHOOTING. 



no use, certainly, to enumerate any more of the miseries 

 attending a pair of bad-fitting shooting boots, as many of 

 our readers, no doubt, some time in the course of then- 

 lives, have had a practical demonstration of the matter, 

 and perhaps can speak more feelingly on the subject than 

 we can, as we have always been very particular in the 

 choice of these articles, and consequently have seldom been 

 caught in the unfortunate situation above alluded to. 

 There are, however, some other objections attending the 

 ownership of a pair of tight boots, particularly when damp; 

 that is, they are very inconvenient to get on, and, we might 

 say, still worse to pull off. And, moreover, nothing injures 

 the stiffening of the heels so much, and makes them per- 

 fectly good-for-nothing, as tugging at them with a boot- 

 jack, or working into them with the toe of the other foot, 

 or over the cross-bar of a chair; the stiff sole-leather with 

 which the heel is braced becomes perfectly soft, and con- 

 sequently will be sure to run over on the next trial. What 

 is more ludicrous than to see a bad tempered man, half 

 bent, dancing and prancing over a small room, with one 

 foot in a slipper and the other stuck fast half way down a 

 tight boot, striving in vain with all the energies in his body 

 to force it on? Such scenes are not uncommon among 

 sportsmen, and often give rise to much merriment on the 

 part of the " knowing ones." That a tight boot is very 

 uncomfortable, no one will deny; and a boot made too large 

 for the foot has likewise its inconveniences, as it will be 

 sure to ride up and down on the heel, and sooner or later 

 will rub the foot into blisters of the most painful character. 

 There is a happy medium between the two evils of loose 

 and tight boots, which every intelligent mechanic knows 

 how to arrive at without any directions from the sports- 

 man; in a word, "the boot should be made to fit the foot, 

 and not the foot to fit the boot," as is too often the case. 

 KNIFE; DRINKING CUP. On starting out to take a hunt, 

 before starting always see that you have in your pockets, 

 a knife, a drinking cup, and something to eat; also, some 

 twine string; and, if you indulge in tobacco, see that you 



