ve now set out, and after marching all
night by slow and easy stages, when morning comes our woodcocks make a
halt wherever they happen to be, breakfast as best they may, and then
ensconce themselves in some snug spot, where they doze the livelong day,
till, refreshed by their twelve hours' rest, they set off again with
renewed strength the moment the sun has gone down.

Thus it is that during the middle of November there is no regular
flight, but a kind of circulation, of woodcocks, perambulating from the
lower to the higher regions, and the _gourmet_ and the sportsman fail
not to stop them on their way.

As it is necessary in this kind of _chasse_ to spend the night under the
trees and on the damp moss, those who wish to enjoy it prepare for it
accordingly by dressing themselves like Navarre, in a suit of
sheepskins, and lay in a good store of cold meat and brandy.

During their nocturnal peregrinations, instinct leads the woodcock to
follow ascending roads and open pathways, especially such as are
completely exposed to the mild winds of the south and south-east only;
they avoid walking through the woods, where the road is encumbered with
brambles and other obstacles, which would oblige them to hop or fly far
oftener than they like, occasionally leaving a portion of their feathers
behind them. Moreover, their feet are tender, and they in consequence
prefer the paths that are overgrown with grass, the open glades, or
roads cut through the moss.

It is now that the sportsman who is well versed in the private history
of the woodcock prepares his snares; for at this period of the year it
is by them that they are taken.

Penetrating, therefore, the depths of the forest, the experienced
_chasseur_ soon discovers, in some secluded spot, a path well carpeted
with verdure, lighted by a few stray moonbeams and sheltered from the
wind, where he forthwith begins to lay his snares. Should the path be
broad, he proceeds to contract it, strewing it partially with stones,
brambles, and thorns; he likewise cuts down some twigs and branches, and
sticks them into the ground at intervals, so as to present as many
impediments and _chevaux de frise_ as he can to thwart the progress of
the lazy bird. The middle of the path should be left quite free, and
wide enough to allow a couple of woodcocks to walk abreast. Into this
narrow passage they all walk without suspicion, and their further
progress is prevented by their falling into the t