AN OLD SPORTSMAN. 49 



had some partridges in the few good farms of 

 which the place could boast, but these we 

 thinned off in a few weeks. 



He was indeed a thorough sportsman, so far 

 as shooting and fishing went. The den in the 

 " Wisp" was completely devoted to implements 

 of his craft. There was an armoury of small 

 guns arranged round the walls. Fishing bags and 

 nets were suspended from the ceiling. Pictures 

 of wildfowl shooting and angling covered every 

 available spot in the place. On the floor, by 

 the wainscoat, were great regimental rows of 

 boots and brogues. A favourite stuffed pointer 

 in a glass case, and with very staring eyes, was 

 hoisted on a bracket over the door, and the 

 faded effigy of a bird near him was my uncle's 

 first snipe. A bookcase in a corner contains 

 many rare sporting treatises, for my uncle 

 delights in the erudition of his pursuits. 

 Above the chimney-piece is a map of the 

 moors and fens and trout streams in the 

 locality, carefully marked and coloured. There 

 is a sort of MS. key or commentary to the 

 chart in a private drawer, full of cunning hints 

 as to the best days and hours and seasons for 



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