My First of September. 6^ 



and we should have to do all we knew to hold 

 our own. Breakfast over, he kept dawdling 

 about, and did it with the utmost coolness, as 

 if shooting was the last thing he thought of. 

 At last we were off, and E — n, who was lame, 

 was mounted on a cob, with a man to carry 

 his gun. We had not got very far from the 

 house before old '^ Pluto," my friend's pointer, 

 came to a magnificent point, backed by the 

 other dog. 



" Very good indeed," said E — n. *^ Go on, I 

 wdll wait a bit." 



We walked quietly up, and bagged our two 

 brace in good form ; no tailoring or hunting 

 after winged birds. On we went, and had 

 capital sport ; but I missed two very easy 

 shots following, when E — n seemed to have 

 braced himself up to the mark, for on our 

 proceeding up to the dogs, on their coming to 

 a point, E — n said, "Hold on a minute," got 

 off his pony, and took his gun from the man, 

 examined the locks carefully, and then nodded 

 to us to go up. We walked in line, E — n in 

 the centre ; up got a magnificent covey, and 

 down came five birds. The Squire and E — n 

 had both killed their brace, but I had missed 



