APPENDIX. 329 



you have any fears of the barrels bursting, leave them at home. Your 

 steadiest position is with the elbow held nearly perpendicularly under 

 the gun : whereas your right elbow ought to be almost in a hori- 

 zontal line with your shoulder, thus furnishing a convenient hollow 

 for the reception of the butt. The firmer you grasp the stock the less 

 is the recoil. That amusing fellow Wanostrocht, in his work on 

 cricketing ("Felix on the Bat"), writes, " The attitude of en garde 

 of the left-handed swordsman is the attitude of play for the right- 

 handed batsman," and you, my supposed Grifiin, may rest assured 

 that it is the best position your feet and legs can take on a bird's 

 rising, but the right foot might be with advantage a little more to the 

 right. Wanostrocht continues, " The knees are bent ; and the body, 

 well balanced, is prepared," you may add, " to turn steadily to the 

 right or left according to the flight of the bird." In nine cases out 

 of ten the common advice to " keep both eyes open " when firing is 

 extremely judicious. But some men are "left-eyed;" a matter you- 

 have probably little thought about ; and yet it is of consequence, for 

 if you are " left-eyed," your aim from the right shoulder (both eyes 

 being open) cannot be correct. To determine whether or not you 

 are " right-eyed," look steadily, with both eyes open, at any small 

 object near you, rapidly raise a finger (of either hand) perpendicularly, 

 endeavouring to cover the object. Instantly close the left eye. If 

 you find that your finger lies in the direct line between the object and 

 your right eye, you will have the satisfaction of knowing that you are 

 " right-eyed ;" but if your finger, instead of intercepting the object, 

 is wide of the mark, at once close the right eye and open the left, 

 when you will, in all probability, perceive that that your finger lies 

 directly between your left eye and the object, thereby showing that 

 you are "left-eyed." I hope it may not be so, as, unless you can 

 shoot from the left shoulder, you ought to close the left eye when 

 bringing your gun to the poise, until from practice you become 

 "right-eyed." The odds are in favour of your being right-legged as 

 well as right-eyed, which important point will be settled, I hope to 

 your satisfaction, should you ever be under the disagreeable neces- 

 sity of having to kick an impertinent fellow downstairs. Never 

 shoot in a hurry. Strive to acquire coolness in other words, strive 

 to acquire such a command over your trigger-finger that it shall never 

 bend until so ordered by your judgment. Your eye will inform your 

 reason of the exact moment when you ought to pull, and your finger, 

 submissive to reason, ought to wait for that precise moment, and not 

 yield to any nervousness. Look with the greatest intensity at the bird 

 as it rises, and coolly observe its line of flight while deliberately 

 bringing the barrels to your shoulder. Steadiness will be increased 

 by your not removing the gun from your shoulder the instant you 

 have fired. Never fire when your shot can be of no more advantage 

 than a single bullet. If you have a bet about killing a jack snipe, 

 seize the favourable moment for pulling the trigger when the pellets 

 will be spread over a disk of more than a yard in diameter. He will 

 then be zigzagging some thirty-five or forty yards from you ; and if 

 your aim is taken at this moment a full foot in advance of his general 



