112
HEADLONG HALL.
it down or cutting his way through it. He had little idea of gradation; he saw no interval between the first step and the last, but pounced upon his object with the impetus of a mountain-cataract. This rapidity of movement, indeed, subjected him to some disasters which cooler spirits would have escaped. He was an excellent sportsman, and almost always killed his game; but now and then he killed his dog[1]. Rocks, streams, hedges, gates, and ditches, were objects of no account in his estimation; though a dislocated shoulder, se-
- ↑ Some readers will perhaps recollect the Archbishop of Prague, who also was an excellent sportsman, and who,Com' era scritto in certi suoi giornali,
Ucciso avea con le sue proprie mani
Un numero infinito d'animali:
Cinquemila con quindici fagiani,
Seimila lepri, ottantatrè cignali,
E per disgrazia, ancor tredici cani; &c.
