188 A GAMEKEEPER'S NOTE-BOOK 



going on. All are in good condition, in fine plumage, 

 and strong on the wing as usual, and, I may add, on 

 the leg. By the way, I myself, in the course of the 

 day, from a secure retreat, watched more than one 

 sportsman critically examining the bodies of several 

 unfortunate birds needless to say, there was no 

 son or daughter of mine among them. Good night." 



V v ^ 



Here is the gamekeeper's idea of what constitutes a 

 pleasantly flavoured October 1 : The day should break 



with a misty dawn, grey dewy cobwebs every- 

 ^^0 where, betokening a visible if tardy sun. 



There should be a brace of spaniels whose 

 occasional lapses after fur are atoned for by their 

 untiring energy among the blind tangles of hedgerows 

 and dells. There should be three guns whose object is 

 to enjoy sport and to make a mixed bag, including inci- 

 dentally the first pheasants without the formality 

 of the so-called battue. There should be a couple of 

 experienced beaters, and a keeper whose soul is set on 

 circumventing certain wary old cocks that are known 

 to him as leaders astray of youthful birds. The 

 killing of pheasants should not be the main thing ; 

 if the charm of the First of October lay only in this 

 it would quickly fade. Next to the potting of young 

 rooks with a shot-gun as they sit stoically near their 

 nests, few phases of shooting call for less skill than 

 pheasant-shooting in early October. 



