A RARE "JOE MANTON'^ 189 



genuine Joe Manton gun, and according to the pedigree 

 and records of this particular weapon it was expressly 

 made for, and to the order of, the Duke of York, son of 

 George III, . . . with gold pan, gold touch-holes, and 

 gold mounts." 



The gun — it is a 14-bore — is certainly one of the most 

 beautifully balanced and finished " flint-locks " that ever 

 came under our inspection. Armed with such weapons 

 it would be easy to imagine that our forefathers were 

 wont to quit themselves right well in the shooting-field, 

 despite such " slight drawbacks " as missfires, hang-fires, 

 damp powder, etc., which must have been of pretty 

 frequent occurrence amongst old-time gunners. 



In such a wonderful state of preservation is the gun 

 under notice, so perfect in " lock, stock, and barrel," 

 indeed, that at first sight one would feel inclined to think 

 that a charge had never been fired from it. Closer ex- 

 amination of the lock, however, reveals the fact that 

 many a time and oft has a spark been created by the clash 

 of an atom of black-flint against tempered steel, and 

 dropped upon the priming-powder in the golden pan ; 

 while many a head of game has, doubtless, been laid low 

 by the contents of the shapely " star " barrel of the old 

 flint lock. 



Tradition declares that the younger son of George III 

 shone far more brilliantly as a sportsman in the royal 

 preserves of Windsor and Richmond than as commander- 

 in-chief of the British forces in Flanders. 



But, alas ! the " Joe Manton " in question can but 

 " bark," and even then only when specially charged to do 

 so. Would that it could speak and tell of the " good old 

 days " when Colonel Peter Hawker (who swore that 



