nvited by a friend to join him in his
house-boat a few miles below Chinkiang, when we could shoot together
next day and then have Christmas dinner on board.

I hired a small sampan to sail me down, together with my boy, taking
only a bottle of whisky, a few things for tiffin and a plum cake, the
last being a Christmas gift from a Norwegian lady.

Starting at noon, it was about three o'clock and near the rendezvous,
when we sighted a flock of geese asleep in the sun on a mud-bank. I
ordered the sampan-man to get as near as possible, and when the geese
rose at a distance of about sixty yards, knocked down a couple with
two charges of S.S.G. A minute later another came flying overhead
calling to its wounded mate, and this also I dropped without pity. The
first two, being only winged, gave a lot of trouble, as they swam and
dived with great speed, but all three were eventually secured.

There was still an hour before dark, and seeing no signs of my friend
I went on shore and bagged three pheasants before returning to the
boat. Next morning, after passing a cold and miserable night in the
tiny cabin of the dirty little sampan, I started with gun and dog at
about eight o'clock--fully expecting that the house-boat would turn up
during my absence--and shot all day, killing eleven pheasants, two
deer, three woodcock, seven duck and one pigeon. As by dark there were
still no signs of my expected host I had no choice but to return home.

It was a lovely night, bright, frosty and star-light, with a nice,
crisp breeze, which, the river being there about two miles wide,
raised quite a sea. Thousands of wildfowl, all on their way south,
were flying, whistling and whirring about in every direction, and
rising from the water quite close to the boat. My dog "Snipe" and I
crept into the cabin out of the cutting wind, which was dead ahead,
and proceeded to discuss our impromptu Christmas fare, which, after
all, was not so bad, and reflected great credit on the boy's cooking
powers. I noted down the _menu_, and here it is:--

1. Pigeon Soup.
2. Woodcock.
3. Boiled Pheasant.
4. Cold Roast Beef.
5. Plum Cake ablaze with Whisky.
6. Cheese.
7. Pumelo.
Whisky and Water.
Tea.

There was no holly or mistletoe to remind one of Merrie England, but I
drank to "the Old Folks at Home" with the sadness peculiar to
wanderers on such occasions, and then gave myself up to nicotine and
reflection for the rest