l
dawn. Some persons will in this manner catch from twenty to thirty
woodcocks in a single night; but they must be favourably placed, have a
great number of snares, and, moreover, possess a considerable degree of
skill, and tread lightly, (for the most important point, in this sport,
is to make as little noise as possible,) and be very quick at putting
the snares in order the moment they have been used--no easy work, in
good sooth, seeing that it must be performed by an occasional ray of
moonlight.

If late on the ground, and you have not sufficient time to obstruct and
barricade the road as directed above, the earth may be turned up in the
middle of the path and the snares placed across it; the woodcocks, in
the hope of finding something to eat, will immediately walk on to
it--but although this method occasionally succeeds it is far from being
as good as the first, for the soil does not offer the same resistance
as the turf, the holes get filled up, and the birds escape more easily.

The sportsman should mind and bag his game as fast as it is snared, or
master Reynard, who has been watching the whole affair, will pounce upon
his birds and carry them off, with a dozen nooses into the bargain.

Poachers reap an ample harvest of cash by this mode of taking woodcocks,
while other sportsmen generally reap the rheumatism; and, truth to say,
the silence and immobility that must be observed all night long, the
intense cold, and the damp fogs which cover the forest in the early
morning, are not very agreeable, and most gentlemen prefer staying at
home, enjoying the innocent diversion of playing the flute, quarrelling
with their wives, or emptying the bottle.

To succeed well in snaring woodcocks requires both skill and experience,
and a thorough knowledge of the woods, the winds, the colour of the
clouds, the age of the moon, the state of the atmosphere; and, in fact,
short of being a poacher or a conjuror, how is it possible to know that
the woodcocks will pass one spot rather than another in a space of
several score of square miles, and amongst so many and such intricate
paths. The _braconnier_ alone is infallible on these points, and curious
specimens of the human biped are these same poachers!

In the first place it must not be imagined that the poachers of Le
Morvan bear the slightest resemblance to those of England. They are as
much alike as Thames water and Burgundy wine. The English poacher is a
rank vagabond, who