A RIVER YACHTING RESORT 167 



Before I had properly loaded a single mallard passed me ; 

 he presented a lovely shot, a full broadside, and he was not 

 more than thirty yards away from me. This time I was 

 really in earnest. I took a long-sighted aim and carefully 

 swung my gun in front of him, steadily drawing on the 

 trigger the while. 



Bang! the echo travelled far and wide, the smoke 

 cleared away, but no duck fell ; on the contrary, I saw him 

 mounting higher and higher above the reeds and topping 

 the alder carr behind me. 



Once more I shot with as much care as before, but, alas ! 

 with the same result. 



To say that I was disgusted is stating my feelings 

 moderately. What was wrong 1 Was it the cartridges, was 

 it the gun, or was it the atmosphere ? These and dozens of 

 other equally absurd questions I put to myself, covering 

 everything except the real reason the want of skill in the 

 shooter, which was myself. 



I am not by any means the only one who has thus erred 

 under similar circumstances, instances in proof of which 

 every sportsman can call to mind who has had any ex- 

 perience. But that fact is a poor consolation, and to lose 

 one's temper and blame one's appliances only drives one 

 from bad to worse. So it was with me. The more pains I 

 bestowed upon my aim the cleaner I missed the object. Had 

 I mauled one or two birds it might have given me a clue to 

 better results, but even that (fortunately for the unfortunate 

 wildfowl) was denied me ; and although I stood in my allotted 

 stand and blazed away at wildfowl in every conceivable 

 position for upwards of an hour to the benefit of the 

 cartridge-maker, I never drew blood at least, not to my 

 knowledge. 



My agricultural friend in the next stand exasperated me, 

 although I could not but admire his skill. He dropped his 

 birds seemingly from the clouds, and every one appeared to 

 fall stone dead. Some even crashed through the yellow 

 brittle reeds within a few yards of my stand, and, to add 



