SEPTEMBER 1 ON THE MARSHES 123 



of the spaniel, and within a dozen yards of myself, 

 offering very easy crossing shots. It would have required 

 a precious poor performer to have " muffed " either of 

 those duck, and a couple dropped dead as the proverbial 

 door nail to the contents of my two barrels. The survivor, 

 after wheeling over the marsh, settled on the big fleet. 

 I had just reloaded when out of the dyke blundered a coot. 

 The sable bird also dropped, to the evident delight of 

 the marshman who carried my cartridge bag, for he 

 declared in a kind of stage whisper that " the ode bald- 

 'ead, cooked with a morsel o' salty pork or beef, would 

 make a masterful good supper for the missus loike." 

 From this it will be gathered that any coot shot on 



E Island are given to the marshfolk, who, by 



the way, seem to prefer them to wild duck, widgeon, or 

 teal. 



An extensive wheat stubble was now reached, and 

 scarcely had we set foot therein than two rattling good 

 coveys of partridges rose almost simultaneously, and within 

 easy range. A considerable amount of powder was 

 burned, the result being one old and a leash of young 

 birds down. The man on my right accounted for a brace 

 of the latter, while I missed as easy a right and left as 

 one would meet with in a season's shooting. But I 

 was not the only man in the field who " muffed " those 

 two beautiful coveys twelve and thirteen birds respec- 

 tively nor did I excuse myself by swearing that my gun 

 was an adjective gaspipe, or my ammunition rotten, etc. 

 Four beats up and down the stubble resulted in five 

 and a half brace of partridges, a brace of hares, and a 

 whimbrel, the last being flushed from a small, oozy dyke 

 running under the sea-wall. The maybird (local name 



