theless some always remain in France during the winter, as well as larks, &c.: in fact it would appear, with regard to birds as with men, that there are workmen and pretenders, active and idle. The country where most thrushes are seen is on the borders of the Baltic Sea, at Dantzic, &c. In that country their number is really prodigious at the season for flight. Every tree, indeed almost every branch, has its thrush: you may fill your bag, and there is scarcely a table on which they are not served on silver skewers half a yard long. A spit of fat thrushes, roasted and larded, is a most delicate dish. They should never be drawn—not more so than a woodcock; the toast placed under them will always be improved. Some eat them en salmis, others make pies of them: this is a mistake-never dine with such people, or you will contract their bad habits. In the neighbourhood of Paris, and even farther north, ortolans may be found: indeed, I kill several each season. Although this excellent bird is rarely fat till it has passed some time in cage, we have eaten many tolerably plump, and not without merit. Few sportsmen know an ortolan: they will pass it by without looking at it: they disdain it. We pity them. A dog will point well to the lark, and with the same firmness as to the quail or the partridge should the shooter desire it, if he fire on each occasion, and cause his dog to bring back the dead bird. But when a shooter punishes his dog for false points to these birds, he soon ceases to notice them. For a beginner the shooting of larks on the wing is good practice, which he may often repeat, as these birds are found at each step in certain seasons. It requires quick sight to shoot them, as they are certainly more difficult to kill than the quail or the partridge. It is no longer as the swallow, which passes and repasses before you, and which you fire at when it suits you. With the lark you must seize the moment, which, when once lost, will not be recovered. In countries where game is not abundant, the shooting of larks with a looking-glass is an amusement taken advantage of from want of better. In those where much game is found, when partridges can no longer be shot, larks may be so. Whether from coquetting or curiosity, the lark likes to approach a brilliant object it looks, and admires itself while singing. : Looking-glasses are made which turn themselves, and move like a clock by the aid of clock-work. They are very ingenious, but the rays which they throw out are very uniform. I prefer the ancient glass which our fathers made use of, and which were turned with a string. According as the sun was strong or weak, so we could accelerate or retard their movements. This sport is carried on in the morning during the month of October, when the weather is clear, till two o'clock. A single glass is quite sufficient for many shooters if the larks are abundant. It is one of those sports where most powder is burnt, and as it is necessary to load quickly, it is as well to make use of cartridges. If the lark is difficult to shoot when rising from the field, it is quite the contrary when shooting with a looking-gla; it soars, flaps its wings, and hovers without changing its position. It is like shooting a bird sitting on the branch of a tree. A spit of larks, fat and well-dressed, has its merit: they must neither be drawn nor roasted too much. I am aware that great hunger is not easily appeased with larks, but they do very well with other dishes. We were one day in the fields, and we saw a shooter at some distance, who appeared desirous of leaping a hedge. Our friend had his right leg behind him as if to take his jump, and then he stopped. "He'll jump," said one. "He won't," said another; and his movements began again. "The ditch must be very large," said I, "since he hesitates so long." "It is quite small,” said one. "It is deep," said another. "It is dry." "It is full of water." To be brief, when we approached him we found an honest sportsman shooting larks, who turned the looking-glass with a string attached to his leg he had no thought of jumping a ditch, since there was none. INTREPID SPORTSMEN. Ad limina nota Ipse domum serâ quamvis se nocte ferebat. If the weather be not agreeable for shooting it will nevertheless do very well for keen sportsmen. Bad weather is sometimes the best. If you are young and fearless, if the rain does not frighten you, start: your first steps will alone appear distasteful, and with a detonator you have nothing to fear. During a fine rain partridges are easily approached they rise from your feet; their flight is heavy and not fast, and you soon find them again. Some of the best partridge shooting I ever had has been during rainy weather in a beet-root field; clover is not so good, as they have no shelter, whereas the beet-root plant, well supplied with |