FACT VERSUS FICTION.
Wno killed the wild goose at Shoeburyness the other day at a distance of upwards of six miles ? Was it-
.. Longbow from Ireland ? Strongbow from Tweed 1" Our contemporary, the ililiestesum, who reported the wonderful story, ought to be able to inform us. Is there another wonderful gun in existence be- sides that invented by Sir William Armstrong, and is it made of a goose- quill ?
See now how plain a tale shall put you down." The plain tale is told by the best authority, Sir William Armstrong himself, who thus writes to the Times-
" Who made the wonderful shot that brought down a wild goose at six miles and seven furlongs ? This is a question that meets me everywhere, and, disagreeable though it be to spoil a marvellous story, I am obliged to answer—Nobody.
" A wild goose certainly was shot by a shell from one of my guns at a distance somewhat short of half a mile ; and, although half a mile is not to be regarded as the limit of safe distance for a goose to stand at, yet I am bound to say that six miles and seven furlongs is a range which as yet has only been reached with the long-bow."
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