THE FEATHERED GAME OF NORWAY. 159 



the principal charms, so that whatever sport comes 

 in his way is looked on as subordinate to the former, 

 and will prevent him growling and grumbling when 

 he returns to his night quarters, that " he has come all 

 the way to Norway merely to shoot this wretched brace 

 of ryper ;" or that " he has gone bear-slaving through 

 the forest days together and seen nothing but a caper- 

 calzie rising a hundred yards out of shot ;" then a visit 

 to Norway will amply repay him, both as regards body 

 and mind. But if, on the other hand, he expects to 

 make a large bag of grouse, and will be disappointed if 

 he cannot kill, at least, his twenty brace a day, and 

 fall in with a bear or two, and kill sundry reindeer, and 

 perhaps an elk, then by all means let him stay at home. 

 Norway is essentially a country for sportsmen, and not 

 at all a place for shooters. 



It is, indeed, a rare occurrence to be able to bag as 

 much as fifteen brace a day ; and even that will require 

 a great deal of very hard work. No doubt on some of 

 the islands off the north-western coast large bags may 

 be made, but I am now speaking of Norway Proper. 



A Norwegian friend of mine, and an excellent shot, 

 told me that he did not know any place where " he 

 could feel confident of killing ten brace in the day." 



The fact is, the shooting has considerably deterio- 

 rated, principally because the introduction of railways 

 and steam communication have rendered it a profitable 



