TAILS OF BALDCOOTS. 267 



gave me greater happiness than many a five-pound 

 note spent in other things. 



The moment Lord Malmsbury arrived we sallied 

 forth, old John Freeman the keeper in company. 

 Than Freeman, who was the joint gamekeeper of 

 Lord Malmsbury and Mr. Fane, a better servant never 

 existed : it was a difficult service to fill, but he tho- 

 roughly understood the nature of it, and gave to his 

 employers every satisfaction. Poor fellow ! I little 

 thought when he loaded my second gun this last 

 winter of 1853 it was the last time I should ever re- 

 ceive that service at his hands. He died in the spring 

 of consumption, regretted, not only by his masters, 

 but by every fellow-servant whose opinion was worth 

 having. 



It was a severe day of the good old sort, the 

 one I am speaking of, and at the right time of year, 

 seasonable weather, as described by Walter Scott, 



" When snow falls tbick at Christmas tide, 

 And we can neither hunt nor ride 

 A foray on the English side." 



A statement had been made that a gentleman on 

 this river had suddenly flushed a lot of baldcoots 

 from their roost upon the ice, every one of whom left 

 its tail, a frozen tuft, behind him ; and as quantities of 

 these birds lighted close to the respective "gazes" on 

 the river in which Lord Malmsbury and myself lay 

 concealed, while the keeper was driving the water, it 

 occurred to us to inspect the individuals and see if 

 any of them were so deficient. Out of the two or 

 three hundred coots that ran, walked, slid, or sat by 

 us, not more than three or four had tails, so we agreed, 

 on comparing notes, that for the coots to be so denuded 



