OWLS. 



we were close out of the forest, when MacA. 

 exclaimed, 'Ye blackguard, 'tis die ye shall/ 

 and before I could prevent him up went the 

 gun and down came the bird. But instead of 

 lying dead it walked up to us as MacA. was 

 loading his gun ! ' Faith, 'tis not shot that 

 will kill ye, that's clear/ said he, ( so here goes 

 again / and he kicked the unfortunate bird 

 over, and pressed the but-end of the stock of 

 his gun on its breast-bone. The bird was, to 

 all appearance, dead, so I took it up and put it 

 into my carnassiere. We trudged on, amusing 

 one another with tales of the chasse, but on 

 turning round some little time after to see if all 

 the dogs were at heel I missed a favourite old 

 setter of mine. I whistled, and whistled, but 

 no, the dog was not to be found. We were 

 now in the middle of a large heath ; there was 

 no help for it but going back, as I would not 

 have lost him for fifty pounds. Setters, at the 

 time I speak of, were very scarce in France, 

 though there is now a superabundance of them, 

 such as they are. After proceeding a quarter 

 of a mile, I saw the old dog at a dead stand, 

 and as it was too dark to shoot I whistled again, 



