yaEOAUTioxs.] 



BY IIKLI), WOOD, AM) WATHR. 



[l'UECAUTI05S. 



of which, like magic, in ameliorating the effects of a 



burn. 



3ril. K you sliouUl take colil, antl tho infl:imma- 

 torv process becomes rapii'., batlio your feel in wnnn 

 water, as hot ns you can bear it; if a little suit or 

 bran, or both, be atUleil. so much the better. Get 

 into a warm bed. and take some whey, or whatever 

 can be j:ot to promole perspiration. 



4th. Never fast too lonj;. and avoid anything ap- 

 proAchini: to excessive fiiti<,'ue. 



5th. Ntvcr },'o out with a stomacli quite empty, to 

 wail for },Mtne of any kind, particularly in the morn- 

 ing. Should you wish to rise early, before any of 

 ihe household are up, you can have a little crust of 

 bread or a biscuit, w ith a glass of milk, left for you 

 the night before. This may be taken with a little 

 sugar, nutmeg, ginger, and the yolk of an e^g. 

 Tnese items are superior to what is called tiie 

 "Doctor" (rum and milk), because you then dis- 

 •)ense with taking sjiirit in the morning— a habit 

 that should always be avoided, except you are sport- 

 ing in a country where ague is prevalent. In this 

 case a little spirit is advantageous. 



6th. Never sit down with wet feet, nor with wet 

 clothes on any part of your body. If a change 

 cannot be procured, keep walking about; or, what 

 is better, go to bed, till some dry clothes can be 

 procured ; or. if you want to start again, after tak- 

 ing refreshment, 'first wet your feet with spirit or 

 essence of mustard, and then be as quick as possible 

 in taking your refreshments. Many take the spirit 

 internally,' instead of applying it to the feet; but this 

 is invariably bad. Nothing produces chilly and damp 

 kind of feelings readier than spirit taken internally 

 under such circumstances. To keep the frame warm, 

 dry, and comfortable, is the surest plan of increas- 

 ing your sporting pleasures, and of rendering them 

 really conducive to health. 



If all sportsmen were aware of the care which 

 some artists take of not introducing a false hue 

 or shade into their drawings and paintings; 

 or if they saw the care with which good authors 

 criticise their writings, and substitute one word 

 for another, they would surely be much more 

 careful in a matter of infinitely more conse- 

 quence to themselves. In other words, they 

 would be extremely anxious in looking after all 

 that relates to the use of the gun. "When a 

 keeper of the Earl of Chesterfield was prepar- 

 ing for the field, in January, 1TS9, and stoop- 

 ing to buckle on his spur, as be sat with his 

 gun resting on his knee, and the muzzle close 

 to his cheek, it seemed improbable that a part 

 of the lock should break at that particular point 

 of time; but his instantaneous death was the 

 terrible efi;ectof liis not having guarded against 

 what was possible. The muzzle of the gun 

 pointing obliquely upwards, and between the 

 left elbow and left cheek, if the piece fires ever 

 3t 



80 often by accident, can never do harm ; and, 

 from this position, it njay bu pre.sentod witli 

 more ease, expedition, and correctnoaa, thau 

 from any other. Beware of the niuzzlo of tho 

 gun being kept hanging downwards: wlien so 

 carried, tho shot is apt to force its way from tho 

 powder, especially in clean barrels. If it hap- 

 pens that a space of sixteen or eighteen inches 

 is thus obtained, and tho gun fired with its 

 point at all inclined downwards, it is ten to ono 

 but tiie barrel bursts. There are other peri- 

 lous consequences besides tho disruption of 

 the barrel ; for men, horses, and dogs, are in 

 perpetual danger of being shot wlien a gun is 

 carried in the before-mentioned pendent man- 

 ner. In sliooting with a stranger, who, per- 

 haps, keeps his gun cocked, and the muzzle 

 usually pointed to the left, plead for the riglit- 

 hand station, and urge that you cannot hit a 

 bird flying to the left. "With a game-keeper, 

 take the right hand without ceremony. In 

 getting over a fence, endeavour to go last, not- 

 withstanding tho usual assurance of, " My dear 

 sir, I am always remarkably careful ;" and, if 

 a person beats bushes with a cocked gun, get 

 out of liis company as a shooter, with all pos- 

 sible expedition. Eecollect, both in the house 

 and in the field, always to consider a gun as 

 loaded, and never suffer it to be pointed, for a 

 moment, towards any human being. 



Before entering upon tho amusement of 

 shooting, we will explain some of the terms 

 used by sportsmen, and with which fowlers 

 only are supposed to be acquainted. The fol- 

 lowing are the principal plirases : — A sege of 

 herons and bitterns; a herd of swans, of 

 cranes, and of curlews; a depping of shel- 

 drakes ; a covert of coots ; a spring of teals ; a 

 gagqle of geese ; a sord, or side, of mallards ; 

 a iadelynge of ducks ; a levy of quails ; ti 

 muster of peacocks ; a nije, or nide of pheasants; 

 a covey of partridges ; a tvnlk of snipes ; a con- 

 gregation of plovers ; a luilding of rooks ; a/«// 

 of woodcocks ; a Irood of hens ; a murmuration 

 of starlings , a JUght of swallows ; a host of 

 sparrows ; a charm of goldfinches ; and a watch 

 of nightingales. 



Having now initiated tho young sportsman 

 into all that is necessary for the successful 

 pursuit of his art, we will, in our next chapter, 

 enter into the mysteries of Grouse Shooting. 



529 



