PORTUGAL 253 



dangerous. With His Majesty I once took part in one, and it seemed 

 as if we, instead of taking part in a simple hunt, were the victims of 

 a tremendous attack. And yet these hundreds of men that surrounded 

 us, while shooting, some in the direction of our feet, others almost 

 at our heads, and trying to kill foxes, rabbits, or partridges, all 

 shouted enthusiastically, " Long live our King! " " F/z'^? itosso Rci ! 



Small game, considering the circumstances mentioned at the be- 

 ginning of this article, may be said to be abundant, as all over the 

 country we find the red-legged partridge (Peniiz vcrmcllia)\ the grey 

 partridge [Perdiz par da) is found in only some parts of Portugal, 

 Marao, Gerez, Serra de Portalegre, etc. ; and rabbits {coclko) and 

 hares (Icbrc) are shot everywhere. In the royal parks of Mafra and 

 Villa Vi90sa, H.M. the King shoots partridges in drives, and, as the 

 waiting-places {cspcras) are generally at the bottom of 

 valleys, and as the birds always tly as swiftly as arrows 

 towards the o-uns and at a great height, these shots— in which His 

 Majesty is unrivalled — are very difficult. In unenclosed lands, part- 

 ridges are shot over greyhounds, of which there is a very good breed 

 in Portugal. 



More than once I have been out shooting with a priest living near 

 the house of Pindella. He had a dog which he had taught to tell by 

 the movement of its muzzle the exact number of partridges that it 

 saw before it. A splendid dog! In the vineyards of the mountainous 

 province of Douro there are many partridges and also excellent sports- 

 men, but the place where the birds most abound is Beira Alta ; there, 

 in some regions, for example near Mangualde, dogs are not required, 

 as the birds are so plentiful that they rise at the sportsman's feet. 



