AN OLD SPORTSMAN. 



gaitered, at times I receive a flesh-wound that 

 causes me to jerk uneasily; and as we are 

 obliged to carry our guns on ready, and follow 

 Jack and Tim, who are respectively below and 

 above us, the situation is not quite as secure 

 or as pleasurable as it might be. Our servitors 

 are making a hideous uproar, considering that 

 there are only two of them. Hie, cock, cock, 

 cock ! Hie, cock, cock, cock ; then thwack, thwack 

 against the bushes. Mark ! The bird starts 

 up at Joe's side, and flies over the stream swift 

 as a shadow. My uncle has his wrong leg 

 first, and bringing up his gun gets into a kind 

 of knot, and misses. 



" O blood alive, master," roars Jack, " he's 

 off, the bligard !" 



" Well, we can't hit everything, Jack," re- 

 turns my uncle good-humouredly, though I 

 see from his face that he is a little mortified 

 at his disaster. 



" There's another here, sir, Pm shure," re- 

 marks Mr. Callaghan ; but he was wrong in his 

 conjecture, or, at least, the bird was wise 

 enough not to make his appearance, for we 

 beat the entire of the cover in vain, and then 



