COVERT-SHOOTING. 113 



sportsman, or even athlete as he may be, try con- 

 clusions with one of these obese young men in either 

 shooting or walking ; let him try to hit one of these 

 tame pheasants, theoretically feeding at his feet, but 

 practically swinging over the tall tree tops with the 

 wind, and see how many feathers he can eliminate 

 from his tail — for no other hurt will he probably 

 inflict. Yet the obese young man kills him dead ; 

 and will likewise walk the critic speechless and 

 inanimate over stubble, moor, or alp. The " dandies " 

 of old used sometimes to give people these surprises, 

 and even the ** Masher " of this period may do so 

 again. 



It may not be quite safe to count too confidently on 

 the effeminacy of " Childe Chappie." Such a one I 

 can remember in my youth. Pale, slim, delicate, 

 and even cadaverous in appearance, with the voice 

 of a woman ; the gentlest, shyest, and most unassuming 

 manners, and an almost irritating lisp, he one night 

 accompanied some roystering companions to one of 

 the not over-respectable night-haunts of the period 



I 



