THE SNIPE. 233 



the practice of smoking, he himself has made no mention 

 of it. Some commentators have brought this forward as a 

 proof of the comparative earliness of many of his dramas, 

 but smoking was in general use long before Shakespeare 

 left London, and he drew his manners almost entirely from 

 his own age, making mention of masks, false hair, poman- 

 ders, and fardingales, all of which were introduced about 

 the same time. But apropos of "the woodcock's head," 

 we are wandering away from Shakespeare's birds. 



The Snipe (Scolopax gattinago) has been less frequently 

 noticed by him than the woodcock. Indeed we have been 

 unable to find more than one passage in which it is 

 mentioned. 



lago, alluding to Roderigo, says : 



" For I mine own gain'd knowledge should profane, 

 If I would time expend with such a snipe, 



But for my sport and profit." 



Othello, Act i. Sc. 3. 



The speaker being evidently of opinion that a snipe was 

 too insignificant a bird to the sportsman to warrant his 

 taking much trouble to kill it, except for mere sport. 



That there was a good deal more "sport" than " profit " 

 is extremely likely ; for it is difficult to believe that the 

 sportsmen of Shakespeare's day, with guns such as we 

 have described, fired with either fuze or flint, could have 

 successfully stopped the erratic flight of a snipe. That 



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