364 SPORTING STORIES 



generally clear enough in the morning to enable him to 

 attend to the business of his estate ; for he seems to have 

 been a good manager, a liberal landlord, an obliging 

 neighbour, and an honourable gentleman in his dealings 

 with all men. 



But to return to his sports. Fishing, I regret to say, he 

 generally carried on with casting-nets : an unsportsman- 

 like proceeding to modern ideas. Shooting was a some- 

 what barren sort of amusement, to judge from such 

 entries as these : — " Had some sport at moor-game with my 

 piece, but killed not." "To Rowe Moor and there killed 

 three heath-cocks," "With brother Sherburne went to 

 Harrope and Skelfshawe Fells with gunnes, shott at a 

 moor-cock, struck feathers off and missed." Doubtless 

 they shot at the game sitting — with the clumsy fowling- 

 piece of those days it would have been almost impossible 

 to hit a bird upon the wing. 



Here is a pathetic entry in which our Squire bewails his 

 inability to go hunting, for reasons which I think will come 

 home to the heart of many a sportsman to-day: — "Teeth 

 lanced. Toothache, headache, cold, and rheume." Life 

 was not all beer and skittles even in those good old days. 



There was another ailment, too, only too common, alas, 

 in our day, from which our Squire occasionally suffered, 

 viz. what Theodore Hook wittily called " tightness of the 

 chest " ! In witness whereof take this item : — " August 2ist. 

 I to Boulton to Parson Emmot. Would have borrowed 

 ^30, but he had it not, or would not have it. Spent 4d. 

 with him." Shrewd chap that parson! Had his share of 

 the four-pennyworth of ale, but did not see his way to 

 " parting " ! 



The squire, however, had better luck in another quarter, 

 as the following curious entry shows : — " December 7th. 

 Sunday. To church, parson preached. To Downham. 

 Met P. ; borrowed ;i^30 of him and made bargain with him 

 to have ^100, and pay him i^io a year for 10 years, and if 

 his two children die within that time go away with the 

 ;^ioo." A good stroke of business that ! The better the 

 day the better the deed ! 



Keen sportsman and good man of business as he was, 



