160 SPORTS AND ANECDOTES. 



the birds and beasts. There had been a great deal 

 of rain, and the greater part of what generally was 

 a vast marsh was a vast sea, and, like Noah's dove, 

 we were almost puzzled to find a place to set our 

 feet ; so we hired a bullock waggon and a peasant 

 to conduct us to ground that was not under water. 

 We had a longish way to* go, and the journey was 

 something abominable : off the track, then on the 

 track, then into a deepish kind of pond, then we 

 got on to the track again, for it was no kind of road, 

 and the bullocks and the waggon got almost swamped 

 at times, and we should have been quite stuck fast 

 if our waggoner had not been a good hand at swearing 

 at and belabouring his oxen. 



Having arrived at a wood of the evergreen oak,, 

 or ilex, we descended from our waggon. We found 

 three or four woodcocks, and no end of pigs, who 

 had been driven there when the marshes were drier 

 to feed upon the acorns. Some of them seemed 

 inclined to be nasty, and I dare say were pretty 

 short of grub, as they had been there for some time 

 on account of the said wood being surrounded with 

 water from the heavy rains. Thus, after a most 

 unsatisfactory day's sport, for we killed only two or 

 three woodcocks, we retraced our steps, and were 



