A PLEASANT DAY, WITH AN UNPLEASANT TERMINATIONT HE birds, who, happily for their own peace of mind and personal comfort, were in blissful ignorance of the preparations which had been making to astonish them, on the first of September, hailed it no doubt, as one of the pleasantest mornings they had seen that season.
Many a young partridge who strutted complacently among the stubble, with all the finicking coxcombry of youth, and many an older one who watched his levity out of his little round eye, with the contemptuous air of a bird of wisdom and experience, alike unconscious of their approaching doom, basked in the fresh morning air with lively and blithesome feelings, and a few hours afterwards were laid low upon the earth.But we grow affecting:
let us proceed.
In plain common-place matter-of-fact, then, it was a fine morning--so fine that you would scarcely have believed that the few months of an English summer had yet flown by.Hedges, fields, and trees, hill and moorland, presented to the eye their ever-varying shades of deep rich green; scarce a leaf had fallen, scarce a sprinkle of yellow mingled with the hues of summer, warned you that autumn had begun.The sky was cloudless, the sun shone out bright and warm; the songs of birds, and hum of myriads of summer insects, filled the air; and the cottage gardens, crowded with flowers of every rich and beautiful tint, sparkled, in the heavy dew, like beds of glittering jewels.Everything bore the stamp of summer, and none of its beautiful colours had yet faded from the dye.
Such was the morning, when an open carriage, in which were three Pickwickians (Mr.Snodgrass having preferred to remain at home), Mr.Wardle, and Mr.
Trundle, with Sam Weller on the box beside the driver, pulled up by a gate at the road-side, before which stood a tall, raw-boned game-keeper, and a half-booted, leather-leggined boy: each bearing a bag of capacious dimensions, and accompanied by a brace of pointers.
"I say," whispered Mr.Winkle to Wardle, as the man let down the steps, "they don't suppose we're going to kill game enough to fill those bags, do they?""Fill them!" exclaimed old Wardle."Bless you, yes! You shall fill one, and I the other; and when we've done with them, the pockets of our shooting jackets will hold as much more."Mr.Winkle dismounted without saying anything in reply to this observation;but he thought within himself, that if the party remained in the open air, until he had filled one of the bags, they stood a considerable chance of catching colds in their heads.
"``Hi, Juno, lass--hi, old girl; down, Daph, down," said Wardle, caressing the dogs."Sir Geoffrey still in Scotland, of course, Martin?"The tall gamekeeper replied in the affirmative, and looked with some surprise from Mr.Winkle, who was holding his gun as if he wished his coat pocket to save him the trouble of pulling the trigger, to Mr.Tupman, who was holding his as if he were afraid of it--as there is no earthly reason to doubt he really was.
"My friends are not much in the way of this sort of thing yet, Martin,"said Wardle, noticing the look."Live and learn, you know.They'll be good shots one of these days.I beg my friend Winkle's pardon, though; he has had some practice."Mr.Winkle smiled feebly over his blue neckerchief in acknowledgment of the compliment, and got himself so mysteriously entangled with his gun, in his modest confusion, that if the piece had been loaded, he must inevitably have shot himself dead upon the spot.
"You musn't handle your piece in that ere way, when you come to have the charge in it, sir," said the tall gamekeeper, gruffly, "or I'm damned if you won't make cold meat of some on us."Mr.Winkle, thus admonished, abruptly altered its position, and in so doing, contrived to bring the barrel into pretty sharp contact with Mr.
Weller's head.
"Hallo!" said Sam, picking up his hat, which had been knocked off, and rubbing his temple."Hallo, sir! if you comes it this vay, you'll fill one o' them bags, and something to spare, at one fire."Here the leather-leggined boy laughed very heartily, and then tried to look as if it was somebody else, whereat Mr.Winkle frowned majestically.
"Where did you tell the boy to meet us with the snack, Martin?" inquired Wardle.
"Side of One-tree Hill, at twelve o'clock, sir.""That's not Sir Geoffrey's land, is it?"
"No, sir; but it's close by it.It's Captain Boldwig's land; but there'll be nobody to interrupt us, and there's a fine bit of turf there.""Very well," said old Wardle."Now the sooner we're off the better.
Will you join us at twelve, then, Pickwick?"Mr.Pickwick was particularly desirous to view the sport, the more especially as he was rather anxious in respect of Mr.Winkle's life and limbs.On so inviting a morning, too, it was very tantalising to turn back, and leave his friends to enjoy themselves.It was, therefore, with a very rueful air that he replied, "Why, I suppose I must.""An't the gentleman a shot, sir?" inquired the long gamekeeper.
"No," replied Wardle; "and he's lame besides.""I should very much like to go," said Mr.Pickwick, "very much."There was a short pause of commiseration.
"There's a barrow t'other side the hedge," said the boy."If the gentleman's servant would wheel along the paths, he could keep nigh us, and we could lift it over the stiles, and that.""The wery thing," said Mr.Weller, who was a party interested, inasmuch as he ardently longed to see the sport."The wery thing.Well said, Smallcheek;I'll have it out in a minute."
But here a difficulty arose.The long gamekeeper resolutely protested against the introduction into a shooting party, of a gentleman in a barrow, as a gross violation of all established rules and precedents.