THE WOODCOCK. 167 



bition of double or treble the same number of partridges, or any 

 others of the feathered tribe. There seems to be something pecu- 

 liarly attractive to the true sportsman in the very appearance 

 of this bird ; for how often do we observe him examine with de- 

 light the long and slender bill, variegated plumage, tapering legs, 

 and large, mellow black eyes of each innocent victim, before con- 

 signing him to the game-bag, and even exhibit more than ordinary 

 care in smoothing down and arranging his ruffled and bloody 

 feathers. 



We, with the rest of shooters, both American and English, are 

 quite an admirer of this bird, and derive more satisfaction from 

 killing a few couples of them than we do in the slaughter of a 

 multitude of rails or a fair proportion of partridges. Why we 

 have this feeling we will not pretend to explain ; but we know that 

 we have it, and have noticed it in others, and have more than 

 once watched, with some degree of astonishment, the eagerness 

 with which most of our friends seek to bring down a solitary wood- 

 cock, that perchance is seen to flutter across their path when in 

 pursuit of other game, and, if successful, they always evince more 

 self-satisfaction than if they had bagged two or three brace of par- 

 tridges. In England, where these birds are much less plentiful 

 than they are with us, "cock-shooting" is highly prized in fact, 

 is considered by many as the "fox-hunting" of shooting; while 

 all lovers of the dog and gun regard a good day's woodcock-shoot- 

 ing as the very ne plus ultra of sport ; and Watts, in his versifica- 

 tion of field-sports, thus cautions the anxious shooter when in quest 

 of this game: 



"Have patience; recollect my words: 

 A couple of these precious birds 

 Yield more delight to sportsmen true 

 Than any other game can do." 



These doggerel lines, though they do not in themselves make 

 any great pretensions to the chaste harmony of poesy, are, never- 

 theless, sufficiently expressive to show the estimation of this bird 

 in the eyes of the English gentry. 



