SHOOTING IN ILLINOIS. 119 



obstinacy, I trust I shall be pardoned if I retain my 

 opinion. We were not long kept unemployed, for on 

 the edge of a corn-field, where the briers occupied an 

 uninterrupted space, both Sancho and Don set. With 

 considerable difficulty I restrained the ardour of my 

 companions ; one in particular, who seemed always to 

 regard it as a matter of life and death to get as soon 

 as possible wifchin shooting distance, and invariably 

 missed his birds after all. We soon reached the staunch 

 dogs, nor were we kept long waiting, for a sudden 

 whirr showed us the entire family on the wing, and 

 every barrel vomited forth its intended fatal contents. 

 Four birds fell, two being claimed by Gr., without 

 quibble, and the remaining duo I felt confident were 

 mine ; at least, never was my gun held straighter, or 

 my aim more deliberate ; still, T., our impatient 

 friend, emphatically declared that one of them was a 

 victim to his prowess. To dispute the point I deemed 

 unnecessary and unbecoming, for I was host ; so 

 without further words> and I trust with becoming 

 dignity, I relinquished the claim of possession, 

 although I could not help thinking it really strange 

 that my hand and eye should so suddenly have lost 

 their cunning, beside having that internal conviction, 

 which we all possess, of having made good shots. 

 Our quarry was rapidly brought to bag, and the 



