260 SPORTING STORIES 



front of his nose, the Saxon was assured he was wonderfully 

 proficient. But a fortnight of darkness and whisky un- 

 limited was enough for the stranger, who, although pressed 

 to remain, departed saying that "though Ireland was a 

 lovely country, it would be all the better for a little more 

 light." 



Midnight shooting was not entirely confined to Ireland, for 

 at the beginning of the nineteenth century the twelfth Lord 

 Saye and Sele provided that amusement for his guests on 

 most evenings at Belvedere in Kent. After supper, Croker, 

 his head keeper, would come and say, " My lord, the game 

 be hall ready." " All right, Croker ; come and have a glass 

 of wine," his lordship would reply, handing him a tumbler 

 of port. "Have you got many rabbits for us, Croker?" 

 " Vy, my lord, hi netted honly two dozen, thinkin' has 'ow 

 it wos has much as your lordship and the other gemmen 

 would care habout. The moon's hall right, and the sooner 

 we're hat work the better." 



The plan adopted was to fasten white paper collars 

 round the rabbits' necks and let them out, one at a time, 

 from a trap. The guns stood round in a semicircle, and 

 blazed away at each bunny as it appeared ; yet the hits 

 were few. On the occasion I refer to only six rabbits were 

 killed out of the two dozen ; but how near the sportsmen 

 were to shooting one another may be gathered from what 

 Croker said in the morning. One of the guests was con- 

 gratulating the keeper on the sport, when the latter broke 

 in with, " Veil, I vos never so thankful to see his lordship's 

 friends goin' hall right to their beds as I vos last night, for 

 some of you gemmen — I means no offence — vould better 

 'a gone there afore you shot." 



As a rule, the old sportsmen were very careless with 

 their guns, and the wonder is that the casualties were so few. 

 Sir James Graham of Netherby escaped an accident by 

 mere chance. The conversation one day turned upon guns, 

 when he said, " Well, I have used my Joe Manton regularly 

 for thirty years, and it carries as well now as the day I got 

 it." " I wonder," said the Duke of Abercorn, " it has not 

 carried your arm off before now ; let me see the wonderful 

 gun." The Joe Manton was produced, and the muzzle 



