114 How I Became a Sportsmax. 



difficulty got into the place, when he was 

 rewarded by instantly flushing a brace of cocks, 

 one of which we got, and marked the other down 

 into a small dingle about one hundred yards off. 

 We were soon after him, when up got three 

 cocks all at once. Fisher killed one, and I got 

 a shot right and left. My first bird went away 

 hard hit, and we soon after picked him up ; the 

 second I missed clean. I fancied I saw some 

 feathers fly, but on going up to the spot, found 

 that I had cut off a branch of a young tree, 

 which no doubt prevented the shot taking effect. 

 As an instance of close lying of the wood- 

 cock at times, I will relate an occurrence which 

 happened in my early experience. I was 

 trying a small covert for woodcock with a 

 brace of very small young spaniels that I was 

 breaking, and of which I am particularly fond, 

 as when you get them broken, how much 

 better they work for you than any one else, 

 and how much more pleasure there is in 

 shooting over them, when one of them 

 found something in a small, bushy piece of 

 thorns and long grass, about two yards in 

 diameter. After some considerable time the 

 little fellow put out a rabbit, which I bowled 



