90 THE SALMON. 
ton, in bits of paper or leaves of ledgers ; ye weary 
crawlers through the streets of mammon, who think the 
world is bounded by the four walls of your ambition ; 
ye who bave been brought up to work, as though work 
were the aim of life instead of the means of its improve- 
ment ; ye who have laid up a few hundred for some pet 
dissipation, a visit to Saratoga or Newport, or a fight 
with the tiger — that man-eater — and ye who must wTitcli 
every day over your accumulated millions, lest a penny 
slip into a cranny and be lost, go to the woods, where 
you will be surrounded by the sombre trees, wdiere the 
rocks wdll be your companions and the wind whisper 
and the stream prattle to you. There you will learn 
how little it takes to render man comfortable and happy, 
how but for his reckless passions and extravagant desires 
all might be satisfied and plenty crown the human race. 
There, .where nature speaks to you in her beauty, in her 
grandeur, and occasionally in her stupendous power ; 
where the wonders of the universe by day and night are 
ever present, like old friends ; where there is naught but 
the thin air between the Maker and his beings, you may 
learn what w411 be more valuable some day than any 
treasure of gold or silver. Breathe the pure air, shake 
off every ill that flesh is heir to ; add to your life, if you 
love it so well, a week for each day, and that a day of 
never wearying enjoyment. Take rod and gun, aspire 
to cast the line far and straight and light, feel the strug- 
gle of patience, perseverance, skill, resolution, with brute 
strength and cunning ; know the pleasurable anxiety of 
the chase, the alternate hope and fear, and the final 
glory of success. Learn the woodsman's art, the " gentle 
