returned behind the warrener's heels, quite unwilling to be thought outwitted by the fortunate rabbit. Indeed, take them altogether, I never saw a more tractable and sagacious kind of dog, and I dare say they proved excellent poacher's assistants to those not unwilling so to use them for that purpose.

On the second day I went forth with Ponto in pursuit of a covey of partridges, said to have been seen about the farm, and which being eight hundred acres in itself, with a sheep-walk attached, and placed in a totally unenclosed country, appeared to extend for miles and miles on every side. However, off went Ponto and myself, when, by one of those fortunate events which in small matters in life sometimes befall individuals, at the corner of a stubble, and adjoining a field of near fifty acres of turnips, Ponto fell upon the covey of birds; for the poor dog, in his anxiety to pull up betimes, twisted over on his side, and there lay as if shot. Up got the birds, thirteen in number, and after skimming away a short distance, scattered themselves all over the adjoining field of turnips. Now it was my turn, and most gingerly I went to work ; for, being October, I well knew in so open a country these birds might fly into the middle of to-morrow, if I missed a shot.

Ponto and myself looked unutterable things at one another-he to intimate he'd do his best, and I that if he didn't-but no words could express what. I soon bagged five birds, for they got up under my feet each time from Ponto's ever accurate point. At length it appeared like Major Crockett and the coons. It was a done thing, and of no use the birds trying to fly away, so they dropped whenever I fired, and finally we killed eleven, having missed but one shot; and to crown our glory, we flushed a woodcock, which the second rise fell also.

On my return I was greeted by our host and a visitor, who had come to dine with us, with congratulations at the good sport in rabbit shooting I had had; but when I undeceived them by producing, one by one, my eleven partridges and then the woodcock, their surprise was beyond bounds. This done in a country where it was supposed a man might shoot comfortably from the 1st of September to February, and never get above two brace in the whole five months; and as to my getting five and a half brace in one day, the thing was impossible!

Unavailing were my assurances that there the birds were, and I had killed them. Poor Ponto wagged his tail, and tried to say "But we two did, though!" The gentlemen would not believe their own eyes. It was useless, however, to argue the matter, for to this day, if alive, I believe one of the party persists in thinking I went purposely to a neighbouring town, seven miles out of my way, to purchase the partridges; and when our host's wine had told upon our visitor's broad Yorkshire dialect, I was highly amused at his constantly saying, "Now, tell us, didn't thee buy the birds? Thou couldn'a kill 'em, any ways."

The following morning on we speeded towards Hull, which town we reached somewhat early in the day, and intending to dine there, and then cross the Humber in the evening, proceed further on our journey homewards. After putting up at what we were told (my mistake) was a good second-rate inn, we ordered dinner, and having seen a vast quantity of magnificent smelts, which in that place are quite extraordinary in size and flavour, being fresh caught from the Humber, as well as seeing snipes and wild fowl of every kind, for which this town is also famous,

L

we desired to be amply provided with the two former, and then took a short stroll through the town.

On our return, eager to attack the fine fish we anticipated so much enjoyment from, we rang the bell to hurry dinner, and speedily up came one of those servant-of-all-work-looking beings, whose appearance seemed to indicate his father must have been a tallow-chandler's apprentice, and a scullery girl his mother-himself being greasy, sleepy, and stupid. Presently this substitute for activity, called "a waiter," deposited before each of us a single plate, witb a tin night-cap-shaped cover over it, and under which we trusted to discover a good display of smelts, rather wondering at the style in which the good people of Hull were accustomed to serve up such things; but as we supposed, in order that they might be "hot and hot," as the London firemen say. Quickly the covers were removed, and the eye fell upon one solitary mutton-chop! My companion went off forthwith into a forty-horse-power state of excitement; but I did better, and endeavoured to console him with the recollection of

the snipes yet to come. Of course, upon being questioned, the waiter answered, as usual on such occasions, "Did you order smelts, sir?" Our mutton smelts were not so bad, and we had a second each. Up came a succession of tin-covered plates, with the snipes-our sole object of consolation for the missing smelts. Alas! it proved to be a third mutton chop!

Words were of no avail with my friend; his spirit was broken, and he merely begged of me to come along, and let us leave the accursed place, and cross the ferry at once, and before it was quite dark. Having settled our bill, we got into the gig, drove to the waterside, and there embarked, together with many other passengers, who had arrived for the same purpose in gigs and on horseback.

By the time we had embarked and disembarked on the other side the water, it had become quite dark, and there was a general scramble by the passengers to get their respective horses and gigs, so as to depart before the lateness of the hour shut out all chance of obtaining a bed at the end of the next long stage. After much trouble, we finally got the ostler to harness our horse to the gig first, and off we started, my friend's mind being still much depressed and grieved at the loss of his smelts and snipes.

Having proceeded for about a mile, and the evening every moment getting darker and darker, with a fourteen-miles' stage before us, the horse seemed to go by no means satisfactorily, and my friend's whip was of little avail, though his horse was a high-spirited eighty-guinea animal by old Sultan, and not likely to want the whip; but finding something was wrong, my companion gave me the reins, and got down to examine what was the matter, as well as the absence of light would admit him to do so, and in a short time I heard him give a heavy, long-drawn sigh, and then exclaim "I'll be d-d if they haven't put in somebody else's horse in the gig !"

This proved to have been the case in the hurry and darkness of the evening. We had then to go back and get our own horse, and but for the fortunate circumstance that our horse was worth any three of the other passengers', we should have had to explain it was really a mistake, and "we were not horse-stealers by profession.'

We did not reach a place to sleep at till it was so late that no supper

or other refreshment could be had, and my friend and myself were obliged to separate for the night, hungry and dejected at the loss of our much-prized dinner and with no substitute. In this state he went to his room, where I could hear him for a considerable time muttering something which sounded to me not at all like his prayers.

A quiet night's rest, aided by a good breakfast the next morning, brought about a more cheerful feeling, and dispelled the gloom arising from our previous day's various disappointments, and my companion and myself journeyed onwards until we finally arrived at Stilton, where we were to meet two other friends, and after trying what sport we could obtain in the fens-snipe-shooting, as we had previously agreed-we were then to proceed a short day's journey further to where we knew we should get some excellent rabbit shooting. It is unnecessary to describe the Lincolnshire fens and those in the neighbourhood of Whittlesey Meer, farther than saying, a more desolate and wretched-looking country cannot be imagined than these fens present in the winter season. Miles and miles of wet, boggy land, though in some parts dry enough for cattle in the summer months, extend down to the sea coast, intersected by dykes full of water, and which from their width and the bad taking off on the sides are very difficult to jump. Not a human being, except now and then a solitary fenman, carrying reeds in his frail boat, and looking over his dyke-nets, set for pike, or a plover-catcher, is to be seen as far as the eye can reach, and no sound breaks upon the ear but the occasional cry of the plover or the distant booming of the bittern in its concealment, sounding close though really at a distance. Now and then a couple or perhaps a team of ducks, or other water-fowl, might be seen high up, and afar off in the air, hurrying onward; and the heavy flapping of a heron's wing, as it slowly soared away, gave a little change to the dead monotony of all around.

The cold north-east wind in these fens, there being no shelter of any kind to protect the body, cuts through the shooter's clothes keen as any knife; and but for frequent applications to the cherry-brandy flask, and a vigorous determination not to be idle and stand still, no one could bear it for many hours together. I have frequently been in these fens with good hardy sportsmen, and with dogs said to be able to endure any degree of cold, but I never yet saw either that were not speedily beat, excepting those long accustomed to this kind of sport, and particularly the dogs, who, having crossed a dyke or two, and felt the sharp wind driving the cold into their very vitals as it were, would sit down and howl in the most piteous manner possible, and it required the greatest difficulty often to get the poor things home again; neither are they of any, or very little, use in this kind of shooting.

The best dress for this work, where you have constantly to cross dykes, the leaping-pole often being totally useless, and you are obliged to protect your ammunition by placing your powder-flask in your hat, holding your gun over your head, and wading through the water, which often reaches above the shoulders and to within a few inches of your chin, and then having to stand exposed to the razor-like cutting of the wind-is a pair of sailor's strong cloth trowsers, well lined round the waist and down to the knees with rough flannel or blanketing, worsted stockings, and strong shooting shoes, in preference to any boots, which only fill with water, and holds the sportsman down when jumping. A man with a

leaping-pole should always attend to carrying spare shot and powder, &c., and you yourself taking care of a liberal supply of cherry brandy, never to be trusted in any other hands with impunity; for in these scenes of desolation you may walk fifteen or twenty miles, and never see a single cottage or other place to get anything at whatever.

In this way my three companions and myself, with a guide carrying a leaping-pole, set forth snipe shooting, intending to cross these wild regions, and proceed to a small distant village to sleep, and then shoot our way back the next day. We found the waters rather too much out and flashy at first, which made the birds lie light, and difficult to get near; but we trusted as we proceeded further into the heart of the fens to find less water. To throw a gun over these dykes, some fifteen or eighteen feet wide, and catch it without any boggling, requires a quick eye and steady nerve, which can only be acquired by practice. However, this was performed pretty well at first, but shortly I saw one gun twirling round in its transit, and splash into the water it went. Next came its master with the leaping-pole; but being little and round in stature, and unable to give that particular swirl of the body which long experience in leaping alone will afford, and which carries the jumper just skimming over the water sufficiently high to enable him to reach the opposite side with his feet, my companion, placing the pole too far away from hima very usual error-took a nimble spring, as he thought, and succeeded in forcing the end of the pole deep into the mud in the very centre of the dyke, where, sticking upright, he found himself at the top of the pole balancing like a rope-dancer. Unwillingly hesitating and fluctuating to discover which way his weight would eventually make the pole yield to, but perfectly assured it would not be towards either of the banks of the dyke, there he remained temporizing with a ducking which was inevitable, but not quite certain when it would arrive. At last the pole gradually inclined along the dyke, and in went my friend like an otter, souse over head, down to the very bottom into the mud amongst the eels, and, like the otter, leaving a chain of bubbles to mark his way.

We fished him up after a time, brandied him, and persuaded him to return back to the inn, as we had not then proceeded far from it. However, he surprised us by reappearing afterwards. We pursued our sport, and where the water was less out, we got some excellent shooting. We had frequently to load our guns under our arms, there being no sound ground to rest the but of the gun on, as we were ourselves standing nearly knee-deep in mud and wet. This rendered our walking, besides the getting over or through the dykes, very fatiguing; and most happy were we whenever we could avail ourselves of any firm standing place, which sometimes occurred, particularly when we arrived at any old plover mill, a place where the plover catchers had trampled round and round to set their nets for the large flocks of plovers which are 'ticed to alight on these spots by means of stuffed plovers or stale birds, when, having done so, the plover-man, who is concealed under a couple of reed hurdles at a distance, pulls a rope and then claps his nets together, covering all the plovers that happen to be within the sweep of the net, and as these flocks consist of many hundreds, I have been informed sometimes as many are taken as five or six dozen at one pull.

Having reached one of these places, I stood with one of my companions, back to back, driving the snipes up out of the surrounding reeds, by gently

calling" sheck-sheck," from time to time, as we continued to shoot and load. He killed eight in one direction, and I killed seven in the other, without even moving a yard. After obtaining as many of our birds as we could find, we again took to the fen, and proceeded onwards, sparing the jack snipes for the sake of saving our ammunition and ourselves the trouble of loading. It so happened, however, that in our progress we frequently found snipes caught in the hair-springes set for them by the fen-men; these we, and especially our guide, who was a rival snipe-catcher, deemed it a point of duty to release and kick up the springes—if, when the bird was unloosed, it could get away, so much the better for it; but if not, so much the better for us; and whether we missed or killed it, at any rate the snipe had a chance for its life. We met with from fifteen to twenty birds caught in this way, to all of whom we gave the chance above alluded to, such as it was: amongst others, I once met with a Daniel Lambert; it was not one of the large solitary snipes, but solitary only in the enormous size larger than a ruff or reeve, and weighing eight or nine ounces.

My friend, who had in the morning amused himself with diving for eels, either from having gone too frequently to the brandy flask, to keep out the cold, or from some other cause, had become very wilful in his shooting, and not only kept frequently missing, but doing so at jack snipes, who, flying unscathed a few yards further off, dropped again, and teased him out of many charges, far too precious to be then wasted upon such miserable objects.

Seeing this with regret, our guide having found another full snipe caught in a springe, brought it for the gentleman to shoot at, "to get his hand in again." The guide went about twenty paces off, and was then to throw up the bird for the other to shoot at. All was ready, and up went the snipe, but the guide turning his face the other way, cried out, "Now, sir, shoot-shoot!" holding on to the end of the stick all the time, to which the horse-hair snare, about a yard in length, was fastened; and nothing could persuade him to let go the snipe entirely, "No, sir," said he, "the gentleman 'ill miss him if I do ; I don't mind a few shot if he'll only shoot!" I was obliged at last to turn out the bird myself, which the gentleman, however, did kill, and got his hand in again, without killing the man as well.

After proceeding some miles further, we arrived at the village we intended to sleep at for the night, and though a most miserable place in itself, and surrounded with fen, we were very glad to find rest and refreshment any where. We had, however, sent on what was necessary, or we should have been badly off indeed; but as it was, we did well enough, and the next morning, after breakfast, turned into the fen again. We found the snipes were less plentiful, and getting much wilder; we therefore toiled through the heavy bog and wet for some time longer, and then turned round and took our beat homewards towards Stilton, which we reached late at night, cold, wet, and weary. Upon our arrival there, we found at the most excellent inn everything we could require-Stilton being situate on the great northern road, then in its glory, and before railroads were thought of. A constant bustle was going on-coaches and private carriages were frequently passing, and the postboys, all alive, some coming home, others going off, with fresh arrivals, and from the number of "boys," as these stunted little