148 



THE GAMEKEEPER AT HOME. 



employment of the snare. If he does shoot, by preference 

 he chooses a misty day, knowing that the sound of the 

 report travels scarcely half the usual distance through fog ; 

 and he beats the meadows rather than the preserves, where 

 the discharge would instantly attract attention, while in the 

 meadows or ploughed fields it may pass unnoticed as fired 

 by a farmer with leave to kill rabbits. 



PARTRIDGES AT EVENING. 



When the acorns are ripe and the pheasants wander 

 great distances from the plantations along the hedgerows is 



