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There is perhaps no amusement whatever, where success is 

 so anxiously desired or so confidently anticipated, as by a young 

 shooter on the approach of the 12th of August or the 1st of 

 September. It is a most fascinating recreation ; though the 

 disappointments which almost uniformly attend the noviciate are 

 extremely mortifying ; yet hope sustains the spirit ; every sub- 

 terfuge is resorted to, on which to fix the blame of miscarriage, 

 while the true reason is studiously kept out of sight : the pow- 

 der is bad, or the shot, or perhaps the fowling piece is crooked ; 

 the game rises .00 near or two far off every thing, in fact, 

 will in turn be wrong, or at least be made to serve as a salvo, 

 rather than the real cause candidly acknowledged, namely, lack 

 of skill, or rather, want of steadiness, in the sportsman. 



To acquire the art of shooting flying, poor inoffensive swallows 

 are often put in jeopardy : how far this practice is calculated to 

 promote the intended object, I will not pretend to determine ex- 

 actly ; but very little practice will enable any person, I should 

 suppose, to become a very expert swallow shooter. The flight 

 of these birds is regulated by the winged insects upon which 

 they feed, and the elevation of the latter is determined by the 

 state of the atmosphere. When swallows fly about ten or fif- 

 teen yards from the ground, they are easily shot^ the distance 

 being completely within reach, and as every now and then they 

 turn or become stationary for a moment, a slender share of skill 

 is sufficient to bring them down. Every thing that accustoms 

 the tyro to the use of the fowling-piece will more or less pro- 



