ROE-SHOOTING. 35 



proceeding is, to place half-a-dozen gentlemen with their 

 guns in the passes, and then, with a host of beaters and 

 dogs, to scour the plantations, always commencing at the 

 windward side, where the roes are sure to be found. I 

 confess I have no great liking to this plan ; the planta- 

 tions are thoroughly disturbed, almost every head of 

 game being driven out ; and I never saw a party of this 

 kind succeed much better than when one or two expe- 

 rienced roe-hunters had the whole sport to themselves. 



A description of one of these noisy parties will, with a 

 few exceptions, apply to all. We will suppose the sports- 

 men snugly in their passes, while the beaters and dogs 

 are in full hoot and howl in the wood below ; one man 

 allows the roe to slip by unobserved, until it is almost 

 out of reach, then fires his buck-shot, perhaps wounding 

 his game, which the dogs are unable to run down ; an- 

 other never sees it at all; a third shows himself in the pass, 

 and so throws away his chance ; and I have even known 

 two instances of our brethren from the south leaving their 

 posts for a time to take a comfortable luncheon their 

 love of a roe-pasty prevailing over their love of the chase. 

 One of them was only detected by the hounds and roe 

 having run right through his pass during his absence. 

 Although a man should not be so churlish as to refuse 

 joining a party of this kind, yet I could excuse any 

 knowing roe-hunter for anticipating with greater pleasure 

 and hope of success the day when he should take the 

 field alone. 



