122 SPORTS AND ANECDOTES. 



through his head, just like a draining-tile cut down 

 the centre, and killed him dead upon the spot. 



There would seem to be a special providence 

 who watches over some people that are careless with 

 their guns, and who, from over excitement perhaps, 

 or from not being aware of the danger of the 

 weapon they carry, shoot at random at everything 

 they see that is within distance ; in fact, who lose 

 sight of everything but the object they wish to fire 

 at. I had once so narrow an escape myself, that the 

 relation of it may be amusing and not out of place. 



It is now many years since that I was shooting 

 at Normanton Park in Rutlandshire, with the then 

 Sir Gilbert Heathcote, afterwards Lord Aveland. 

 There had been a sudden fall of snow during the 

 night, and the rabbits had cut several pads or runs 

 in it. We were four guns, and one of them was 

 Baron Park, afterwards Lord Wensleydale. He and 

 Sir Gilbert Heathcote walked in a line with the 

 beaters down a narrow slip of young larch plantation, 

 at the end of which I and the other gun were posted. 

 When they had got to within ten yards of me a 

 rabbit got up, and ran down one of the aforesaid 

 pads as if he meant to charge me ; it had got to 

 within a yard of me, and my impulse was to give 



