FEATS OF MASTER HARRY 81 



and sparrows, and those sort of things, and pulled 

 the trigger. So I waxed in years and wisdom. All 

 the time I could steal from my lessons (for I was not 

 quite a Pawnee) I spent in this edifying manner ; at 

 length I was fully initiated in all the mysteries of 

 sporting by a relation, himself the prince of sports- 

 men, who took a fancy to me. The reason was as 

 follows : 



In the depth of winter, the ground being smothered 

 with snow, and the blast bitter, I followed him out a 

 wild-fowl shooting. I was devoid of hat, an article 

 that I looked upon as superfluous, and that I always 

 lost or mislaid as soon as it was given me. Equipped 

 I was in white cotton stockings ; and my shoes, 

 which were of the thinnest, I had tied to my feet 

 with a string which passed over the instep. I could 

 not put them up at heel with any comfort, because 

 I had large chilblains there, which were broke. At 

 length, after creeping a space on my gloveless hands 

 and knees in the snow, and under cover of some sedge 

 and willow bushes, up flew some wild ducks before 

 my patron. " Quack, quack ! " down came one to 

 his shot, and fell with a splash into the river. In I 

 plunged after him like a Newfoundland dog : you 

 might have heard the flounce in a still day at Chip- 

 penham, about six miles off. The duck not being 

 dead, made a swim and a dive of it. Long and 

 dubious was the chase ; but in the end I descried 

 his bill amongst the sedges, where he had poked it 

 up to take a little breath. Making a dexterous 

 snatch, I seized him underneath by the legs 

 Chinese fashion, with the exception of the pumpkin 



