SNIPE SHOOTING. 105 



by mopping the perspiration from his forehead, or mak- 

 ing a misstep, wrenching his limbs. The trouble with 

 you, Ned, is on those long erosssshots ; you bang away 

 quickly, make no time allowance for distance between 

 you and the bird — shoot away ; if you hit it, all right ; if 

 you don't, you secretly curse your luck, or blame the 

 gun, when you, and you alone, are to blame. At those 

 long cross-shots, the same as I saw you miss to-day, you 

 ought to have fired at least from — My ! How the time 

 has slipped by. Here we are at your gate. Some day 

 Don and I are going to take you with us after ducks. 

 Then I will demonstrate to you that your snap shoot 

 ing won't do at long range— 



If at forty yards a foot seems too far ahead, 



Make it two, keep your gun moving, and the bird falls dead. 



Excuse this poetry, but I can assure you it's not 

 only spontaneous, but original. Good-bye," and Ned, 

 with one-half the snipe we killed, passed quickly in the 

 gate, and I went home. Thus passed one day among 

 the snipe. 



Does the reader tliink Ned enjoyed this hunt? Can-, 

 not you recall many incidents in your life similar to 

 this ? "When cold winter has passed silently away, and 

 warm welcome spring has returned, when birds are fill- 

 ing the air with, melody, streams flowing joyously along 

 freed from their ice-bound covering, buds are swelling, 

 grass in tiny sprouts peeping inquiringly through the 

 brown earth ? The hunter is a generous soul, he loves 

 nature in all her many changes, and delights to wander 

 admiring her beauties in hex manifold forms. He feels 

 as Milton did, when he expressed himself so beautifully 

 in these words : 



