CONVERSATIONAL HINTS FOR YOUNG SHOOTERS; A GUIDE TO THE PRIVATE TALK IN FIELD, COVERT, AND COUNTRY HOUSE. By R.C. Lehman.

1894 1st edition. 12mo (116 x 172mm). Pp,116,32[publisher's catalogue]. Pictorial red cloth, black titles to spine.

"Many manuals have been published for the edification of beginners in the art of shooting. If that art can indeed be acquired by reading, there is no reason why any youth, whose education has been properly attended to, should not be perfectly proficient in it without having fired a single shot. But I have noticed in all these volumes a grave defect. In none of them is any instruction given which shall enable a man to obtain a conversational as well as a merely shooting success. Every pursuit has its proper conversational complement. The farmer must know how to speak of crops and the weather in picturesque and inflammatory language... Similarly, a shooter must be able to speak of his sport and its varied incidents. ... The great thing, surely, is to be both a good shot and a cheerful, light-hearted companion, with a fund of anecdotes and a rich store of allusions appropriate to every phase of shooting. I venture to hope that the hints I have here put together may be of value to all who propose to go out and 'kill something' with a gun". Numerous prepackaged anecdotes, with step by step instructions on how to deliver them in different circumstances, as well as how to use them to spur your interlocutor into doing all the work for you, while you nod and say yes, absolutely. First published in Punch, and as valuable as ever.