32 THE GAMEKEEPER AT HOME. 



hesitation as it were, they suddenly shoot up, and become 

 great, hulking, broad fellows, possessed of immense strength. 

 So the keeper's boy is really much more a man than he 

 appears, both in years and knowledge — meaning thereby 

 that local intelligence, technical ability, and unwritten 

 education which is the resultant of early practice and is 

 quite distinct from book learning. 



From his father he has imbibed the spirit of the woods 

 and all the minutiae of his art. First he learned to shoot; 

 his highest ambition being satisfied in the beginning when 

 permitted to carry the double -barrel home across the 

 meadow. Then he was allowed occasionally to fire off the 

 charges left in after the day's work, before the gun was 

 hung against the beam. Next, from behind the fallen 

 trunk of an oak he took aim at a sitting rabbit which had 

 raised himself on his hind-quarters to listen suspiciously — 

 resting the heavy barrels on the tree, and made nervous 

 by the whispered instructions from the keeper kneeling on 

 the grass out of sight behind, ' Aim at his shoulder, lad, if 

 he be sitting sidelong ; if a' be got his back to 'ee aim at 

 his poll.' From this it was but a short step to be trusted 

 with the single -barrel, and finally with the double ; 

 ultimately having one of his own and walking his own 

 distinct rounds. 



He is now a keen shot, even better than his father ; 

 for it is often observed that at a certain age young 

 beginners in most manual arts reach an excellence which 



