OTTER HUNTING, FALCONRY, SHOOTING 143 



to the gate, stood on her hind legs, quietly pressed 

 down the latch, and crossed the bridge. After this my 

 friend virtually left her alone, only now and then taking 

 a friend to let him see old Sarah open the gate. 



" I had a Siberian hare for two or three days in my 

 rooms in Tenterden Street, who did battle with any one 

 who attempted to touch him, and finally turned cat and 

 housemaid out of the room." 1 



"September gth, 1887. 



" One of the best pointers I ever owned never failed, 

 but would always poke up his first bird or coney ; if 

 he was far ahead he would look round, and if I were 

 not in shooting distance, would steal up, put up his 

 birds, and then come crawling up to me, to be scolded. 

 I never hit him, for he was perfectly conscious of his 

 offence ; except with the first bird of the day, I never saw 

 him make a mistake. In Scotland, on broken, hillocky 

 ground, directly I had loaded and waved my hand to 

 him he would run off down wind, and go clean out of 

 sight, ranging rapidly towards me if he found the birds 

 and thought I could not see him, as was very often the 

 case. He would come tearing along his original down- 

 wind line, and directly he saw me, wheel sharply 

 round and point in the direction of the birds that he 

 had found, wait till I came up to him, and would 

 take me to the spot without any attempt to get the 



1 To the Rev. Murray Matthew. 



