THE GUN, AND HOW TO CHOOSE IT. 57 
approved by those makers. Laminated steel guns I have 
sertainly seen of rare beauty and finish, and of excellent 
performance, by many makers of high standing and repu- 
tation; as Greener, Ellis, Dean and Adams, and others; 
still, in truth, I can only say I do not like them— 
timeo Danaos et dona ferentes. 
I have seen Belgian guns, the best, I think, of all the 
Belgian work I have met, of the damascened twist, which, 
to a sound and safe appearance, have united good per- 
formance, and have stood well in service. But I have 
never seen any foreign European work, which for per- 
formance in the field and in long endurance can compare 
with the best English. Le Page, of Paris, turns out, 
unquestionably, the best French work. I have seen little 
Belgian, and no German work, I mean on fowling-pieces, 
not rifles or pistols, which I would care to own. 
In reference to laminated steel and damascus-twist 
barrels, I will state here one fact, which may be of use 
to novices, and on the correctness of which they may rely. 
Exceedingly cheap guns of both these descriptions, are to 
be found in every hardware and every gunsmith’s shop. 
These are, invariably, shams of the worst and most 
atrocious kind—infinitely worse than the common rubbish, 
for the most part, which professes to be little more than 
rubbish; since the very catchpenny frippery and fret- 
work are merely put on to cover flaws and conceal the 
reai fibre of the metal. There never was such a thing 
made in the world, as a low-priced, damascened twist or 
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