146 How I Became a Sportsmax. 



the curlew, the rattling of the brawling river, 

 and other highland sounds and scenes, and 

 shall till the day of my death. 



I had heard and read a good deal of Dart- 

 moor, and in the absence of anything better 

 resolved to visit it. And having sounded my 

 brother Ted on the subject, and found him 

 nothing loth, we packed up our traps (as few 

 as we could possibly manage wath), shouldered 

 our guns, took a brace of spaniels with us, and 

 having got on the coach at Bristol, went by it 

 as far as Exeter; here we left our coats and 

 rugs, and then resolved to do the other part on 

 foot. We had a tolerable load each, consisting 

 of an extra pair of boots and stockings, flannel 

 shirts, etc.; and with our ammunition, of which 

 we thought proper to take a good supply, we 

 made the best of our way to the nearest part 

 of the moor, and then put up at any small 

 inn or public-house we could find (on one 

 occasion we got accommodated at a small 

 farm-house, but preferred the inns), from 

 which we made daily excursions into the 

 moor. We found the accommodation some- 

 what of the roughest, but it did not much 

 matter to us, as we had made up our minds to 



