6 How I Became a Sportsman. 



Old oak chest, which had long lain hid ; 

 We found it unlocked, and raised the lid. 



And there (what a glorious find !), besides a 

 magnificent bundle of broken fishing-rods 

 and crippled walking-sticks, was a gun, a real 

 gun, with lock, stock, and barrel all complete, 

 and not a flaw to be found in it, barring the 

 lock, which was certainly uncommonly stiff. 

 The gun was exactly that cut so graphically 

 described in the song 'The Old English 

 Gentleman ' — 



" This gun it was old-fashioned, 

 A regular flint and steel. 

 Wide muzzled and a kicker, 

 It was heavy in the heel." 



No matter, it was a gun, and from that 

 moment I abandoned all thoughts of bringing 

 into use a cross-bow, upon which, with the aid 

 of a friendly locksmith, I had been a long time 

 at work ; and from that moment I centred all 

 my energies upon the kicker (as I afterwards 

 called it, and not unjustly), which was about 

 six feet long, short in the stock, not very large 

 in the bore when you got down below the 

 first two inches, but being bell-mouthed, it 

 looked as if it would scatter the shot well over 

 a good-sized archery target ; and I may as well 



