38 THE GAMEKEEPER AT HOME. 



birds, being domiciled in every barn. Now they are more 

 objects of curiosity, though still useful when large teams 

 of horses are kept and require grain. 



The keeper's boy sells, too, young squirrels from time 

 to time, and the eggs of the rarer birds. In short, he has 

 imbibed all the ways of the woods, and is an adept at 

 everything, from ' harling ' a rabbit upwards. By-the-bye, 

 what is the etymology of ' harling,' which seems to have 

 the sense of entangling .'' It is done by passing the blade 

 of the knife between the bone of the thigh and the great 

 sinew — where there is nothing but skin — and then thrust- 

 ing the other foot through the hole thus made. The 

 rabbit or hare can then be conveniently carried by the 

 loop thus formed, or slung on a stick or the gun-barrel 

 across the shoulder. Of course the ' harling ' is not done 

 till the animal is dead. 



The book-learning of the keeper's boy is rather limited, 

 for he was taught by the parish clerk and schoolmaster 

 before the Education Acts were formulated. Still, he can 

 read, and pores over the weekly paper of rural sports, etc., 

 taken for the guests at the great house and when out of 

 date sent down to the keeper's cottage. In fact, he shows 

 a little too much interest in the turf columns to be quite 

 satisfactory to his father, who is somewhat anxious about 

 his acquaintance with the jockeys from the training-stables 

 on the downs hard by — an acquaintance he discourages 

 as tending to no good. Like his father, he is never 



