BERNACLE SHOOTING ON WHYRILL MARSH. 183 



a nutmeg-grater, to hear the welcome " clang, clang, 

 clang, clang, clai, clai," coming towards you. Out 

 goes your pipe, or, which was oftener the case, in 

 it goes into your pocket, all alight. You cock your 

 gun and strain your eyes, which are watering with 

 the piercing cold wind, coming from the sea, till you 

 can see nothing, even if the birds come near you, 

 which they very often do not. But I must say it 

 is most exciting the very sound of wild geese is 

 real music. 



We seldom went out without getting some geese, 

 generally three or four ; but the size of the place 

 was so immense that it was quite a chance whether 

 they came within shot or not. For the first ten 

 days that I shot there I only got two geese, but 

 on one occasion after that I had a real good night 

 of it. We went out at five o'clock one evening and 

 did not come in till nearly eight next morning, in 

 time to get ready for breakfast at nine. We were 

 five guns, and we laid twenty-four geese upon the 

 servants' hall table, out of which number I had killed 

 eleven. I got thirteen shots and knocked down 

 twelve, one of which beat me. I knocked him 

 down just as the tide was coming into one of the 

 gutters, and I did not dare to follow him. 



