84 MY OLD DOG TRIM. 



them, as almost every one does, in a haphazard manner, 

 thinking the god3 when I was lucky enough to bag one, and 

 was not very particular how it was done, provided I got it. 

 I liked the birds well enough but had always looked upon 

 them as too wild and cunning for me, and had never spent 

 much time upon them, devoting nearly all my time to wood- 

 cock and quails ; but this day's sport had convinced me that 

 there was a wealth of genuine, soul-satisfying sport in their 

 pursuit that I had not dremied of, and that no more royal 

 game bird graced our forests, an opinion that has been 

 strengthened year by year, and to-day I had rather take a 

 good dog and follow up s^me old, wary cock grouse, even if 

 I do not get him, than to bag a dozen woodcock or quails. 

 Excuse this d'gres-ion, as I am a little daft oa the sjrouss 

 question, and when I get a going do not knov when to stop. 

 There was one more reve'ation connected with this day that 

 I caught a faint glimpse of that I must mention. I thought 

 that I knew about all there was to be known about hunting, 

 but before night I had the faintest suspicion of the fact that 

 the dog knew more than I did about some things, and I had 

 hunted but a fe ;v d ys with him before every doubt upon the 

 subject was removed, and, (ver after, when there was any 

 coriflict of opinion as t > where the birds were, I let the dog 

 have his own way. This was brought about by observing 

 that when I was at fau't in marking down a bird that Trim 

 had ideas of his own upon the subject, which were generally 

 correct ; he was ra-ely at fault, and was possessed of a re- 

 markable faculty for locating a flashed bird. II j appeared 

 to know intuitively just where it would alight. In vain 

 would I try to make him hunt closer the particular bit of 

 cover where I had seen the bird go down, and, after several 

 times tramping the spot out myself to no purpose, he would, 

 nearly always, lead me straight to the bird. Oace, I shall 

 never forget, I tried to make him go back and work over a 

 corner that we had just come through, feeling sure that I 

 had marked the bird correctly, and that it was lying close in 

 there; he would not budge an inch, but looked back at me 

 over his shoulder, slighlly wagging his tail, and tried to 



