FIELD SPORTS OX CHARACTER 11 



with the man, who, w^ith tlie greatest difficulty, and 

 after studying every available means of approach, 

 has got within range of the lordly stag, and hears 

 the dull thud which tells him his bullet has not 

 missed its mark. Nor with him, who, after a 

 hurried breakfast, climbs hill after hill in pursuit 

 of the russet grouse, or mounts to the top of a 

 craggy ridge in search of the snowy ptarmigan. 

 Not so either with him, who traverses every bit 

 of marshy ground along a low bottom, and is 

 thoroughly gratified, if, at the end of a long day, 

 he has bagged a few snipe ; nor with him, who, 

 despite cold and gloom and wet, has at last drawn 

 his punt within distance of a flock of wild duck. 

 In each of these, endurance and energy is taught 

 in its fullest decree. It is no slisfht strain on the 



o o 



muscles and lungs to follow Eonald in his varied 

 course, in which he emulates alternately the move- 

 ments of the hare, the crab, and the snake ; and it 

 is no slight trial of patience to find, after all your 

 care, all your wearisome stalk, that some unobserved 

 hind, or unlucky grouse, has frightened your prey 

 and rendered your toil vain. But, en avant, do 

 not despair, try again, walk your long walk, 

 crawl your difficult crawl once more, and then, 

 your perseverance rewarded by a royal head, 

 agree that deer-stalking is calculated to develop a 



