THE ' RANDOM SHOT.' 233 



CHAPTER XIII. 



' Not dead ! Not yet quite dead ? 



I that am cruel am yet merciful ; 



I would not have thee linger in thy pain." 



The 4 Random Shot' Field Sports Cruelty tempered by 

 Mercy Museum Lectures Maxims for Young Sports- 

 men Destructiveness of a Bad Shot A Case in Illus- 

 tration Retriever over-matched Evil Consequences of 

 Careless Shooting and Random Shots The best not infal- 

 lible Necessity and Use of a good Retriever The most 

 promising Breed Experiments and Observations Im- 

 portance of Discipline A Field Day. 



WHO that has seen it can ever forget the emo- 

 tions of pity which a contemplation of Landseer's 

 exquisite picture of ' A Random Shot ' never 

 fails to produce. Yet how simple are the mate- 

 rials that the great master has called to his aid. 

 Here is an incident of ordinary occurrence in the 

 early experience of a thoughtless deer stalker. 

 A hind who has received her death wound from a 

 rifle that was perhaps hastily discharged at one of 

 the antlered lords of the herd, lies dead upon the 

 snow. She has apparently strained every nerve 



