ANECDOTES OF GOOSE-SHOOTING. 225 



loud or choking cough, and with an unwieldly kick 

 set the whole herd dancing. The grunt of the beast, 

 imperfectly heard by the leader of the shooting party, 

 is deemed at once to have proceeded from some one 

 of his followers; he halts, therefore, and turning his 

 head in inquiring rage, demands in dumb show, "Who 

 did it ?" The look is endeavoured to be conveyed 

 from one to the other, for had any noise been made 

 by the next man to his lordship, he would have been 

 sure to have looked it on to his neighbour, rather 

 than have braved the consequence himself ; but in 

 the instance I am speaking of each man looks behind 

 him, and the last man collecting the looks of all 

 bestows it on the ox in the concentrated state of a 

 sportsman's lozenge, and the line proceeds again. 

 " Hush ! no noise," being still the order, and the mud 

 beneath the bank of the river having been attained, 

 serving-men and guests creep on ; their leader halts 

 suddenly to listen to the geese, and, as in a string of 

 carria2;es in London, when coachmen have not their 

 horses in hand, and poles and pannels become ac- 

 quainted, butt goes the nearest man's head against 

 him, which he of course hits at. Dumb show of 

 objurgation having been continued by the leader for 

 a few moments, during which he strikes at ima- 

 ginary heads in the air, the line proceeds again, 

 when very likely the tenacious mud sucks a hold of 

 some follower's boo4-, said boot extricating itself with 

 a loud pop like a ginger-beer bottle. The leader 

 halts once more, and in dumb show now signs to the 

 assembly at large that " if that occurs again he'll go 

 home:" at the same time he addresses a look of furious 

 inquiry to the man next him, who, as usual, answers 

 the silent appeal by a glance of suspicion on his next 



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