FIELD ETIQUETTE. 277 



words of field philosophy from the pen of one of the 

 brightest and best sporting authors of our time. Every 

 lover of out-door recreation can call to mind the diverse 

 characteristics of associates or companions frequently 

 met with in the shooting-field. The two extremes may 

 be compared to positive and negative forces — the one 

 type attracting and the other repelling. 



Who has not come in contact with the would-be oracle 

 — the pariah of camp and field? This specimen of the 

 genus homo is nothing if not autocratic. He impresses 

 upon those around him the vast extent of his forest lore, 

 his skill, and varied experience as a mighty Nimrod, and 

 assumes the air of a dictator or the patronizing tone of a 

 superior being. He may vary it with a sarcastic remark 

 concerning the arms or appliances of his associates, their 

 lack of judgment, etc., and setting forth his dictum as to 

 the proper gauge of guns, utterly unconscious of or obliv- 

 ious to the fact that he is himself a perfect bore. 



Then there is the doleful individual, grumbling 

 continually over ill-luck in the field, bad weather, and 

 the petty annoyances of camp life, which should be taken 

 in cheerful spirit by all devotees of out-door sports. 

 The chronic fault-finder will magnify a shower into a 

 deluge of misfortune, and an empty game-bag, or even 

 two or three "unaccountable misses," will furnish 

 material for a woful tale, too often spiced with excla- 

 mations more forcible than elegant, until the luckless 

 shooter spoils the serenity and general good-will of his 

 companions. Such a man is almost invariably one to 

 shirk all responsibilities in camp, throwing the entire 

 burden upon his comrades, and devoting his attention to 

 finding fault with the elements and all animated nature. 



From these characters — gunners, perhaps, but not 

 sportsmen — it is a relief to turn to the devotee of field 

 sports who has ever a kind word and a helping hand, a 



