A DAY'S SHOOTING 317 



(who was well accustomed to duck-shooting) to accompany me. 

 I had got to within a hundred yards, when an old mallard, 

 whom I had not seen, rose at my feet out of a pool, and quacked 

 an alarm that made six more rise out of shot of me. I avenged 

 myself, however, on him, bringing him down quite dead at a 

 considerable distance. Several pairs of ducks rose at the report, 

 and all went off to the sea. 



I had scarcely commenced hunting again with the pointer, 

 when he stood at something close to his nose, stopping dead 

 short in the midst of his gallop. I walked up, expecting a 

 jacksnipe ; when, out of a small hollow, or rather hole in the 

 heather, rose eight grouse. They flew wild, but I killed one 

 with my first barrel, and two with the second — the wind blowing 

 them up into a heap just as I pulled the trigger : the rest flew 

 over a height not far up, right in the eye of the wind. I knew 

 the violence of the gale must stop them ; and accordingly I 

 found them again, immediately over the ridge, and killed a 

 brace more, marking down the rest close to a cottage. My 

 next two barrels killed one only. The rest went off a long 

 distance. The star of my friend's larder was still in the ascend- 

 ant, for before I turned to beat homewards I killed two jack- 

 snipes ; thus making up four partridges, six grouse, four snipes, 

 three hares, and a wild duck. Not a bad bag already. I beat 

 on towards the coast, killing some partridges, a brace of rabbits, 

 a woodcock, and a hare or two. 



Near the shore I saw an immense flock of curlews and 

 other birds in a tolerably good situation for getting near them. 

 Of all shore-birds there is none, not even the wild duck, so 

 difficult of approach as a curlew. With the most acute sense 

 of hearing, their organs of smelling are so sensitive, that the 

 moment you get " betwixt the wind and their nobility " they 

 take wing, giving the alarm by their loud shrill whistle to every 

 other bird within hearing. I got, however, unperceived to 

 within forty yards of them, and having loaded one barrel with 

 a cartridge, I fired right and left at the flock. 



There was a rare confusion and scuffling amongst them, 

 and my retriever brought me, one by one, three curlews and 

 four golden plovers. Some other birds dropped here and there 

 out at sea, but I could only get the above number. A brace 

 of teal rose at the shot and alighted in a ditch in the adjoining 



