The Sun.
London, England, 1868-07-03 00:00:00

THE SUN, LONDON, FRIDAY EVENING, JULY 3,186 F.

A BIT OF SHOOTING.

(From Wilkes's Spirit of the Times)
" /111 the sports of the field are delightful, I own,
But none can with shooting compare ;
'Tis a joy that entices the king from his throne,
'Tis a joy that the wisest may share.
The voice of the hound on the breeze of the morn,
The note of the bugle may please ;
The song of the wild bird is sweet from the thorn,
But the gun has more music than these."

" My dear fellow!" exclaimed our ever-jovial friend,
Fred. P., as he entered our office one fine October morn-
ing, and saluted us with a stinging spank on the back that
drove our pen quarter of an inch into the desk, spoile4 a
nearly finished apologetic letter to our principal creditor,
and obfusticated" us generally. You certainly must be
fully aware that

' It is brilliant autumn titno, tho most brilliant time
of all,
When the gorgeous woods are gleaming ore the leaves
begin to fall ;'
and that, at this season of the Soar, a true sportsman ought
to seize upon every opportunity that offers to free himself
from

Fumuni et epos strepiturnqu3

'and engage in his favourite pursuit ; therefore, as I have
just received a letter from our good friend, Laurain C.
Aating that game of various kinds is quite abundant in his
vicinity, it is but reasonable to suppose that you will at
once get together your shooting apparatus, and take with
me this afternoon's train for S., where, if we meet with no
great sport, we can enjoy at least two pleasant evenings at
the snug little tavern of our genial and respected a Uncle
Joe.' "

Now, all this was very fine, but it was likow•is., very
sudden, and we said so; but Fred., who knows our
weakness for guns and gunning," and whose powers of
persuasion are most potent, assured us that he had deter-
mined not only to go himself, but that we sbou!d accom-
pany him, and at the end of five minutes we had uncon-
ditionally agreed to do so. Accordingly, at four o'clock
we repaired to the railway station, secured seats in a com-
fortable smoking car, HQ:.lr meerschaums, and soon were
flying along the,rails at a thirty-mile rate, toward the town
of M. Here a clunisy stage-coach was found in waiting, on
the top of which we established ourselves and the dogs,
and after a jolt of five miles over 'a succession of rough
hills, we were set down in "apparent good order "at Unclii
Joe's door.

And perhaps we did not receive a hearty welcome from
the veteran himself, who is blessed with "a voice as clear
and strong as a northwest wind, and a groat laugh suitable
to it ;" perhaps we wore not warmly welcomed by some
half-a-dozen old acquaintances, congregated in the little
bar-room; and porhaps we were not most cordially invited
to "take it hot, with sugar"—well, perhaps ! We know,
however, that in a very short time after our arrival we
were summoned to partake of a supper such as an old-
fashioned country tavern only can furnish, and are confi-
dent that the profits accruing therefrom, if any, must
have been infinitesimal, for we "ate the table clean to the
dishes."

Having accomplished this gastronomic feat, we returned
to the bar-room, where, in the midst of a weather-crops-
cattlo-affairs-of-the-nation-discussing assembly, entertain-
ment was found until about nine o'clock, when, at the
suggestion of Laurain C., before mentioned—an old shoot-
ing companion, and, by the way, a capital shot —a party of
kindred spirits adjourned to the back room of the tavern,
the very appearance of which is suggestive of rollicking
times ; and here, with stories, songs, jokes, the fragrant
weed, and a liberal supply of pure and strong substitut e
for vinum Samium, we enjoyed ourselves until past eleven,
when, remembering that we should have to rise early, on
the following morning, we bade the company (who showed
no signs of adjourning) good night, sought our small but
neat apartment, and submitted ourselves to the arms of
Somnus.

A ringing knock upon the door, accompanied by the
voice of Jake, the hostler, aroused us at daybreak, and,
quickly donning our sporting rigs, we descended to the
dining-room, where a hearty breakfast awaited. This was
soon disposed of, and the dogs having been fed—a duty
which we invariably attend to ourselves, believing with
Dr. Lewis that it attaches the animal to his master, and
consequently makes him the more subservient to his will,
and therefore the more anxious to do that which will
merit his caresses and kind treatment—the "pocket pis-
tols " filled, and some minor matters duly attended to, we
shouldered our guns, and, with the best wishes for a suc-
cessful day from Uncle Joe, took our departure for the
field.

Having agreed the previous evening to meet our friend
Laurain at his house, distant about a mile and a half from
the village, we took the pleasant road loading thereto, and
proceeded leisurely along, enjoying the golden sunlight,
the cool, bracing air, the sight of the beautiful though
fading fields of meadows, carpeted with richest green,
and of the silent, shady woods arrayed in their brilliant
vestments, and, in fact, all the innumerable autumnal
attractions of nature, with a zest appreciable only by those
" born rich in the eyes and ears," to which class we profess
to belong.
"It must have been just such a morning as this,'
remarked Fred, " that the poet had in mind when ho
wrote :

"The sun in mellow light sleeps on the hills,
The lazy river rolls in silence on,
The woods keep Sabbath, 'till the deep-mouthed bay
Of wandering fox-hound breaks upon the ear ;
Or from the top of an old chestnut falls
The tmipting nut the startled squirrel drops,
Parting the fadin; leaves with pattering sound;
Or on the rotten log beside the stile,
The busy partridge beats her woodland drum.
The frost has ttped the tree, with lovelier tints
Than pencil ever gave to forest scone ;
There, green and gold in various hues combine, •
Spotted with crimson where the maple stands,
And when the sun upon the boar-frost shines,
The foliage sparkles, as though crystal hung
On every leaf, and.trembled in the air."
" Aye, it must, indeed," we replied, "and graphically has
he described it."

At eight o'clock we arrived at L.'s, and found him armed
and equipped for the day's sport, and almost as eager as
ourselves to be at work ; so it was soon arranged that he
and Fred should keep company, leaving us to "shoot on
our own hook," as we have had a decided preference
for doing, ever since a good friend and usually careful
sportsman accidentally demonstrated the maximum of
proximity attainable between a charge of No. 8 shot
and the best head we over possessed, " without any
collision of continuous particles of matter." We there-
fore started off again with our setter, following the road
until opposite the farm-house of old Charley D., who
caught sight of us as we were passing, and coining out
greeted us warmly, and insisted upon our accom-
panying him into his cellar to taste some cider "that
would do our heart good." We found the sparkling bever-
age possessed of all the virtues ascribed to it by its whole-
souled, skilful, and experienced manufacturer, but wero,
perhaps, better pleased with the information he gave us
that there were "heaps of quail in them 'ar stubbles over
by the back road," which information of course was nut
calculated to prolong our stay, and Ivo soon took our leave
thewi said t hthe
s bpbrleess. sedoiunrtesnptoiort, however, was destined ton of proceeding forthwith to
commence before reaching them, for, as we were travers-
ing a tract of rocky pasture land, lying a little distance in
the rear of the farm buildings, our Better suddenly came to
a stand on the edge of one of the small patches of berry
bushes with which the surface was bare and there
covered, and the next momenta fine hare broke from
the opposite side and was making off with very little
ceremony, when a well-directed shot keeled him over
neatly, just as he topped a hillock some thirty yards dis-
tant. "Well, well, but this will do for a beginning—eh,
Wasp, old fellow ? A few more of, this species will not
come nnacc,Spiable, certainly. And now we think of it,
those woods yonder aro the same in which we enjoyed
such superb cock-shooting a few seasons ago. Perchance
we may find master Scolopax at home' to -day ; at any
rate it's likely they contain game of sense sort, so here
goes ;" and, having reloaded, we continued on our way.
Lying on the edge of the woods, and divided therefrom
by a crooked rail-fence, along which grew a tangled
was a small field, into
whic o
we fbushes
entered when Wasp commenced
hedge
quartering and feathering in fine style, and presently
stood squarely on game, close to the before-mentioned
fence. , • ,
had
scarcelysn d t "'reds,

What that game was we had no means of knowing,
though from the locality we strongly suspected quail ; but
considering it very probable that it might bo grouse, and
wishing in that case to test the truth of the assertion that
grouse will bear the presence of a dog, or even the report
of a gun, much better than they will a single sound of the
human voice, we stood perfectly still, and speaking in an
ordinary tone found, sure enough, that such was the fact,
for in an instant, whirr! whirr! up got a brace of fine
full-grown members of the genus Tetra°, whose electrify..
ing rush was quickly followed by a couple of ringing re-
ports, " smoke, feathers, and falling birds." " Down !
Wasp, down ! By Jove, the neatest double shot we over
made in our life : If it be an augury of the success that
is to attend us to-day, ours will be a respectable bag."

SCARCITY OF WATER IN WEST SURREY.—The
continued drought has dried up the ponds and brooks, and
tho greatest difficulty is experienced in procuring a supply
for cAttle. Some herds aro driven three miles for water,
and on the hill lands carts are omplo,yed to fetch it for tha
homesteads.

ROYAL BOTANIC SOCIETY, RE TENT'S PARK.—
Their Royal liighnes3es the Duchess of Cambridge
and the Grand Duke and Duchess of Mecklenbarg-Stre-
litz, with the Princess Mary Adelaide, visited the exhibi-
tion yesterday. The attendance was not pita so large as
on the first day. Among thos 3 present were the Earl of
Sefton, Lord Hilt3n, Lord and Lady Begot, 'Lord Loathes-
borough, Countess of Lichfield, the Austrian, Greek, Ita-
lian, and Spanish Ambassadors; &c.

CORNISH TicKcrlNG,--Thursday.—At Camborne
1,667 tons of copper ote realised £3,579 65., an average of
£3 19s. per ton. Standard, £lO9 os. ; no alteration. Pro-
duo 61a.102 tons 4 cwt. of au copper.