1 82 WILD SPORTS OF THE WEST. 



are constantly smuggled into Ireland, and sold under 

 the denomination of London guns, but which, it is well 

 known, are fabricated in Birmingham ; and the extent 

 to which this dangerous imposition upon public safety 

 is carried would scarcely be credited. There is a 

 constant demand in this unhappy country for fire-arms ; 

 the well-affected and disaffected seek them for very 

 different purposes ; one wants them for defence, the 

 other requires them for aggression ; and every steamer 

 that arrives from Liverpool has generally some stands 

 of contraband arms on board. 



When a gun begins to exhibit symptoms of having 

 done its work, the sooner a man discards it the better. 

 An injured barrel, or enfeebled lock, may prove fatal 

 to the owner or his associates. Accidents every day 

 occur, and very lamentable consequences arise from a 

 culpable neglect in retaining arms that should be declared 

 unserviceable, and, of course, disused. 



I had once a favourite gun, which, from constant wear 

 and tear, exhibited unequivocal weakness in the lock, 

 and which I had been earnestly recommended by a 

 veteran sportsman to discard. On a cold and rainy day 



I was with my friend, O'M , shooting woodcocks 



in the heath, and having sprung several, which, from 

 the severity of the weather, were as wild as hawks, we 

 marked them into a ravine, and determined to tie up the 

 dogs, and endeavour to steal upon them. To keep my 

 gun dry, I placed it under the skirt of my jacket, with the 

 muzzle pointing downwards. My companion and our 

 attendant were busy coupling the dogs, when the gun 



exploded, and the charge passed between O'M 's 



bosom and the back of a dog he was in the act of securing, 

 buried itself at the foot of the keeper, covering him with 



