THE SOUTHDOWN SHEPHERD 



iHE shepherd came down the hill carry- 

 ing his greatcoat slung at his back 

 upon his crook, and balanced by the 

 long handle projecting in front. He 

 was very ready and pleased to show his crook, 

 which, however, was not so symmetrical in shape 

 as those which are represented upon canvas. Nor 

 was the handle straight ; it was a rough stick 

 the first, evidently, that had come to hand. 



As there were no hedges or copses near his 

 walks, he had to be content with this bent wand 

 till he could get a better. The iron crook itself 

 he said was made by a blacksmith in a village be- 

 low. A good crook was often made from the 

 barrel of an old single-barrel gun, such as in their 

 decadence are turned over to the birdkeepers. 



About a foot of the barrel being sawn off at the 

 muzzle end, there was a tube at once to fit the 

 staff into, while the crook was formed by hammer- 

 ing the tough metal into a curve upon the anvil. 

 So the gun the very symbol of destruction 

 was beaten into the pastoral crook, the emblem 

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