over the shooting-ground with fifes and drums, and called the
marksmen by divisions to their stands. They pressed forward to it in
haste, and sat in rows, according to regulation, by lot, each in the
stand to which his name was affixed. As long as the division was
shooting, no one left his stand, and none of the neighbours must
disturb them by word or movement. Thus they sat, cross-bow in hand;
then the _pritschmeister_ called out, "Marker, set the clock going." At
the signal the hand was set in motion, each "quarter" being signified
by the striking of the clock. During this time each marksman was to
shoot; he shot sitting, at least such was the custom in the interior of
Germany after the middle of the sixteenth century, but they were not
allowed to support either themselves or their crossbows. When the hand
had finished its circuit round the clock, the bell sounded, a steel
mirror was lowered by a hempen cord, and covered the dial-plate, and a
grating either rose from the earth, or descended from the wooden
building in front of the butt, in order to guard it from the eager
shooters. Then began the labours of the _neuner_, secretaries and
markers. If the butt was movable, it was turned round. Behind it stood
a table for the secretaries, the inscribed bolts were drawn out, the
bull's-eye shot and those in the circles were transcribed, the farthest
shot also was noted down. But the marker filled up the holes made by
the bolts, blackened the injured places in the butt, and put on a new
plate. In this way the collective divisions of marksmen having fired
one shot, the bolts were borne in solemn procession with the
_pritschmeister_, fifes and drums, to the shooting-house: there the
less successful bolts were placed in the box of their owner, but those
which had been distinguished shots were laid in an ornamental wooden
_Attrape_; in Zwickau, in 1573, it was a large white swan, the city
arms. The bolt of the bull's-eye had a place of honour, and the most
distant had also a distinguished place. After this first course the
distribution of prizes began.

They endeavoured to give marks of distinction in every direction, and
to provide as many marksmen as possible with prizes; but our ancestors
did not object to humiliate by bitter jests those who had performed
ill. Prizes were awarded to those who hit the bull's-eye, also to those
who had shot oftenest near it, and if his remaining shots were not near
enough for him to gain a ch