SPORT SPOILED. 243 



Two or three times at different parts of 

 the beat I heard the hounds give tongue, and 

 several shots were fired, but nothing came my 

 way, and small wonder, for the two soldiers 

 who had been stationed near me as stops, 

 liavmg tired of the task after the first five 

 minutes, were noisily employed in collecting 

 figs off the tree in my rear. Sticks and 

 stones were freely used ; and at last one fellow 

 not being able to get a bough down by these 

 means, and being too lazy to climb, bethought 

 himself of his musket. His capital idea was 

 received with applause by his comrade, and a 

 couple of shots immediately followed, raising 

 no doubt a pang of envy in some distant 

 sportsman's mind, at the confounded luck of 

 those fellows by the fig-tree. Though they 

 may not have known it before, those two 

 soldiers found out immediately after their 

 escapade, that the unfortunate Englishman 

 whose sport they were spoiling knew a good 

 R 2 



