64 "The Confessions of a 'Poacher. 



been shot himself as seen his dog destroyed ; 

 and there are few good dogs which have not, 

 at one time or other, been riddled with pellets 

 during their lawless (save the mark ! ) career. 

 If a hare happens to be seen, the dog some- 

 times works it so cleverly as to "chop" it in 

 its "form" ; and both hares and rabbits are not 

 unfrequently snapped up without being run 

 at all. In fact, depredations in fur would be 

 exceedingly limited without the aid of dogs ; 

 and one country squire saved his ground game 

 for a season by buying my best brace of lurch- 

 ers at a very fancy price ; while upon another 

 occasion a bench of magistrates demanded to 

 see the dogs of whose doings they had heard 

 so much. In short, my lurchers at night em- 

 bodied all my senses. 



Whilst preparing my nets and wires, the 

 dogs would whine impatiently to be gone. 

 Soon their ears were pricked out on the track, 

 though until told to leave they stuck doggedly 

 to heel. Soon the darkness would blot out 

 even the forms of surrounding objects, and our 

 movements were made more cautiously. A 



