The Project Gutenberg EBook of Punch, or the London Charivari, Vol. 103,
November 5, 1892, by Various

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Title: Punch, or the London Charivari, Vol. 103, November 5, 1892

Author: Various

Release Date: April 21, 2005 [EBook #15677]

Language: English

Character set encoding: ASCII

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PUNCH,

OR THE LONDON CHARIVARI.

VOL. 103.

November 5, 1892.

CONVERSATIONAL HINTS FOR YOUNG SHOOTERS.

LUNCH (_continued_).--Perhaps the best piece of advice that I can
give you, my young friend, is that--for conversational purposes--you
should make a careful study of the natures and temperaments of your
companions. Watch their little peculiarities, both of manner and of
shooting; pick up what you can about their careers in sport and in
the general world, and use the knowledge so acquired with tact and
discretion when you are talking to them. For instance, if one of the
party is a celebrated shot, who has done some astonishing record at
driven grouse, you may, after the necessary preliminaries, ask him
to be good enough to tell you what was the precise number of birds he
shot on that occasion. Tell him, if you like, that the question arose
the other day during a discussion on the three finest game-shots of
the world. If you happen to know that he shot eighteen hundred birds,
you can say that most people fixed the figure at fifteen hundred.
He will then say,--"Ah, I know most people seem to have got that
notion--I don't know why. As a matter of fact, I managed to get
eighteen hundred and two, and they picked up twenty-two on the
following morning." Your obvious remark is, "By Jove!" (with a strong
emphasis on the "by") "what magnificent shooting!" After that, the
thing runs along of its own accord. With a bad shot your method is,
of course, quite different. For example:--

_Young Shot_. I must say I like the old style of walking up your birds
better than driving, especially in a country like this. I never saw
such difficult birds as we had this morning. You seemed to have the
worst of the luck ev