2 SEAFOWL SHOOTING SKETCHES. 



A gull which I had shot, being- only slightly wounded at the 

 extremity of one wing, I carried it safely home, and, first dress- 

 ing its wound, turned it into the garden, where it used to pick 

 up worms and swim about in a small fish pond. In the house 

 it would sit near the fire, and it took a particular delight in 

 playfully pecking at the wondering eyes of a kitten we had. 

 The kitten would put up with it for a time, but at the finish 

 generally ran away pursued by the gull. The poor bird's end 

 was rather singular. A sore formed on one of its legs, and I 

 took it to a poultry " doctor," who put some kind of a strong 

 poultice on the leg. The result was, we found our pet dead on 

 the following morning. 



After an interval of some years, during which time I went 

 to Australia, via the Cape of Good Hope, returning by Cape 

 Horn, thus sailing round the world, I determined to have another 

 go at the seafowl. 



Therefore, early one Monday morning, in the beginning of 

 August, in company with my brother William and our friend 

 Gartside, I arrived at the miserable little station which Fleet- 

 wood then boasted, and were not long in getting to the water- 

 side, where we engaged a boat for a few hours. The boatman, 

 in answer to our eager inquiries, said there was not much sport, 

 the birds being too wild. As soon as we had got fairly off, I pro- 

 ceeded to load my gun, a double muzzle-loader; whilst my 

 brother did the same with his, a long single muzzle-loading 

 1 1 -bore. 



Our boatman, plying his oars industriously, we were soon off 

 the mussel beds, where we could see a lot of large gulls and 

 curlews feeding. However, they proved to be quite equal to the 

 occasion, and veered off just as we were felicitating ourselves 

 on being nearly in range. We gave them a barrel each, but it 

 was no use. Scarcely had I re-charged, when a flock of sea 

 swallows flew over the boat, and I dropped a couple right and 

 left. 



Perceiving the others hovering over the dead ones, I hurriedly 

 re-charged, but by the time that interesting occupation was con- 

 cluded the birds were just circling out of reach. We went a little 

 farther on, and I succeeded in getting another couple, and while 

 again rapidly charging the gun, not looking at what I was doing, 

 But keeping my eyes on the birds, I managed to give the 

 knuckle of my right forefinger an awkward cut on the muzzle 

 of the gun, which was of the old commended thickness of a worn 

 sixpence. I had to wrap a portion of my handkerchief round the 

 finger, and it did not improve my shooting. 



Soon after this event G., seeing a large gull flying past in nice 

 range, snatched my brother's gun out of his hands, and, al- 

 though he had never fired at anything living before, brought 



