A VALUABLE ALLY. 121 



hardly tell you that at that moment the hawk was 

 forgotten for the snipe, and it was not until the 

 afternoon, in a distant bog, that I again recog- 

 nized my little friend, the merlin, hovering about, 

 and every now and then appearing about to leave 

 us, but as quickly returning, and evidently hang- 

 ing on in expectation of our starting some of his 

 favourite game. As for the snipe, they lay like 

 stones while he continued overhead ; old Pluto 

 pointed them one after another, even Fan conde- 

 scended to " back," and I had to kick them up 

 under the nose of the former, as they sprang 

 reluctantly from the rushes, and presented a suc- 

 cession of the most satisfactory shots imaginable ; 

 which was the more gratifying as they had been 

 unusually wild during the previous part of the 

 day. After bagging several, at last one rose at a 

 considerable distance quite out of shot and 

 away went the merlin after it. We watched the 

 chase for a long time, both birds appearing 

 equally matched, but they disappeared before it 

 came to a close, and the shades of evening soon 

 afterwards reminded me that I had five miles to 

 walk home before dinner. 



Well, on my return a few days afterwards, there 

 was the merlin again on the same bog ! I could 

 perceive him, as I topped a hill which commanded 

 an extensive view of the country, scudding along 



G 



