PARTRIDGE SHOOTING. 195 



up and beating up partridge. What would 

 old Hawker say to the practice of standing in 

 a corner to blaze at whole flights of birds 

 rising as thick as a cloud of starling from the 

 turnips : 



More than half the pleasure of partridge 

 shooting lies in hunting the birds, and in 

 watching the performances of the dogs. 

 Followed in such a fashion the day admits 

 of many relatively pleasant comedies, surprises, 

 regrets, and triumphs. Here the dogs are 

 tremendously eager and busy, sniffing and 

 snuffing madly ; at length one crouches 

 down as stiff as marble, backed by the com- 

 panion searcher. An interval of awful sus- 

 pense. This is surely the big lot farmer 

 has seen " every morning regular " on the 

 spot and away flops a solitary quail, to the 

 disgust of everybody. Ten to one you fire 

 below the bird, or if you hit him, knock his 

 soft body into a mere warm pulp of blood and 

 feathers. The "Frenchmen" are to be 

 dreaded, and it is a pity we have so many 

 of them amongst us. They give the pointers 

 and setters habits of poking which are difficult 



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