UPLAND SHOOTING. 
271 
the sherry which Peritus had recommended as the best form 
ofluncheon. 
“ I have no doubt you are perfectly right about this, Peritus,” 
said his friend. “ Indeed, the practice has proved the principle, 
for we have got forty-five or forty-six Quail between us, out of 
those first four bevies, besides thirty Cock. It is glorious sport, 
indeed.” 
“ Not very bad, certainly, Agilis; and you have shot welJ 
too, which inclines you to think of the sport, perhaps, with more 
than ordinary complacency. But mark me, if we had followed 
up that first bevy we should not have flushed or marked the 
other five, all of which, you remember, the dogs trailed as they 
were rambling about on the feed, before the day got warm. 
It would have occupied us till eleven o’clock to pick up that 
one bevy, had we been able to move it, which is doubtful; and 
by that time all the others would have huddled themselves 
away into some little dry sunny nook or o flier, where it would 
have been ten to one against our stumbling upon them. As it 
is, before that same hour we had stirred six bevies, four of 
which we have used up, while I hear the other two calling even 
now in that great swamp, where we will give a good account 
of them likewise, when we have finished these cigars. 
“ Aye ! I observe all this, and see the sportsmanship of it, 
Peritus ; what noble birds, moreover, these autumn Woodcock 
are. All full grown birds, with fine gray foreheads, and pink 
legs. They must weigh one-third more each than the young¬ 
lings we slaughtered in July.” 
“True, O king! at least one-third more. Now, don’t you 
think we ought to give up summer Cock shooting Y* 
“ I never thought otherwise. What between the thermome¬ 
ter at ninety in the shade, and the myriads of mosquitoes, I do 
not look upon summer shooting as fit sport for any man who is 
not as thick-shelled as a lobster, and him it would be likely to 
boil.” 
“ What autumn shooting we should have, if they would but 
abolish summer Cock shooting, and enforce their own laws !” 
vol. i. 20 
