WILD DUCKS. 



281 



served, ouglit to pay them a, visit, or sit down to one of 

 their repasts. Mere eating and drinking are not every- 

 thmg with the sportsmen, however, for songs and stories, 

 and many a flash of wit enliven the festive l)oard. 



No conntry, in my opinion, equals the United States in 

 the preparation of game dinners, and Paris cannot even 

 compare with Baltimore in this particular line of cook- 

 ery. Epicurianism, so far as it relates to game, has been 



brought to the highest standard in the latter city, and 

 few bon mvants are found there who cannot discourse 

 learnedly and eloquently on the delicacy of a canvas- 

 back duck, the fulness of turtle soup, the ripeness of tur- 

 tle eggs, the flavor of celery, and the bouquet of sherry or 

 Bordeaux — which are the usual wines consumed at din- 

 ners. Although all the large hotels throughout the coun- 

 try boast of their tables, I doubt if any of tliem equal 

 those of Baltimore, when the shootmg season opens, in 

 November, for persons may then find on their bills of fare 



