212 A HUNTING CATECHISM 



and if this should happen it may be fatal if not at 

 once attended to, though if the intestines them- 

 selves are not injured, the protruding portion may 

 be pushed back, and if the hole in the wall of the 

 abdomen is only small, it may possibly be closed 

 by inserting a safety-pin through the lips of the 

 skin ; or by pushing a long pin through, and then 

 twisting anything round the two ends in a figure 

 of 8, to keep the pin in its place. If dirt has got 

 into the wound or clings to the intestine, it should 

 be carefully wiped ojff before the gut is returned, 

 and, of course, professional assistance must be 

 obtained at the earliest opportunity. 



A little knowledge is apt to be a dangerous 

 thing. Some years ago the writer happened to 

 be standing at the second last fence at a fashion- 

 able meeting near London when a horse fell, and 

 not getting up at once was immediately surrounded 

 by a crowd as usual. Immediately there was a 

 cry, " The horse has staked itself ! Send for a 

 gun ! " and while a messenger was despatched to 

 the stand for a weapon, others sat on the unfortu- 

 nate animal's neck to prevent it rising. The 

 crowd was so dense the writer was unable to 

 inspect the animal, but a young gentleman, 

 apparently two- or three-and-twenty years of 

 age, made himself very conspicuous in the centre 

 of the lookers-on, vociferating, " Why doesn't the 

 gun come ? " and throwing his arms about, 

 apparently taking the direction of everything 

 upon himself. At last a man came running up 

 with a gun, which the young gentleman seized 

 from him, and while the crowd scattered on each 

 side he pointed the weapon at the animal's fore- 

 head, and making a well-directed shot, put an end 

 to its existence. When the crowd dispersed the 



