After the Woodcliuck. 



283 



taken from the oven it looked as if 

 someone had been melting a few 

 pounds of butter in it. The meal 

 commenced. Uncle Jake liked it. It 

 was rich to be sure, but the meat was 

 sweet, tender, delicious to the taste. 

 He was himgry. His hosts were hospi- 

 table. As a consequence like many 

 another young fellow he didn't know 

 where to stop. In a couple of hours 

 that woodchuck had his revenge. No 

 storm-tossed passenger on an Atlantic 

 liner was ever more ill than he. It 

 took days for him to recover. 



Years afterward he was on a shooting 

 expedition to Orange County and was 

 putting up at Uncle Bill Taylor's hos- 

 telry. Before starting one morning 

 after the ruffled grouse, Taylor said, "I 

 am going to have something extra good 

 for dinner to-night. " What is it ? 

 "You'll know when you come in this 

 evening." After a long day's tramp 



and a good deal of hard work the hotel 

 was reached at a somewhat late hour. 

 A bath and general clean-up followed. 

 Then dinner was announced as ready. 

 Into the dining room went the party. 

 Uncle Jake was scarce in when he 

 as the children say, ' ' made a face. " 

 He gave a sniff and remarking " wood- 

 chuck by all thats holy," left the dining 

 room. Years before he had had his fill 

 of that kind of meat and wanted no- 

 more of it. Is it not singular how long 

 early impressions last ? That the odor 

 of woodchuck from the meat simply 

 resting on a platter should bring up at 

 once the illness of the long years before 

 shows strongly how physical conditions: 

 react upon the mind even after the 

 lapse of a long period of years. While 

 Uncle Jake is ever ready even now to 

 hunt the grass-feeding rodent, the eat- 

 ing of the game has not a particle of 

 charm for him. 



m^ 



