Old Folks and their Firelocks. 201 



the charge, and especially the powder, with such force 

 that the rebound sends the rod right out, and he has 

 seen those who were not cottagers follow the same 

 practice. A close-fitting wad, too tight for the bar- 

 rel, will sometimes cause the rod to spring high above 

 the muzzle : as it is pushed quickly down it com- 

 presses the air in the tube, which expands with a 

 sharp report and drives the rod out. 



Loading with paper, again, has often resulted in 

 mischief : sometimes a smouldering fragment remains 

 in the barrel after the discharge, and on pouring in 

 powder from the flask it catches and runs like a train 

 up to the flask, which may burst in the hand. For 

 this reason to this day some of the old farmers, cling- 

 ing to ancient custom, always load with a clay tobacco 

 pipe-bowl, snapped off from the stem for the purpose. 

 It is supposed to hold just the proper charge, and as 

 it is detached from the horn or flask there is no danger 

 of fire being communicated to the magazine; so that 

 an explosion, if it happened, would do no serious 

 injury, being confined to the loose powder of the 

 charge itself. Paper used as wads will sometimes 

 continue burning for a short time after being blown 

 out of the gun, and may set fire to straw, or even dry 

 grass. 



The old folk, therefore, when it was necessary to 



