316 SEPTEMBER. 



ing to the best of their ability to tempt them 

 abroad; and now that their kennel door is 

 thrown open, with what a bound of joy they 

 spring forth ! They cry, they howl, they 

 plunge and gallop to and fro in the wildness 

 of their exultation; and the best trained are 

 for a time incapable of preserving decorum. 

 Perhaps there are no men who follow their 

 pursuits with such gusto as sportsmen. All 

 the stimulating influence of chase and achieve- 

 ment, of discovery and possession, are theirs : 



And oh ! what a soul of delight is there 

 As they rush in the strength of the desert air ! 

 In the bounding limb, in the glorying flow 

 Of spirits in healthful hearts that glow ! 



And to these we may add, the influence of the 

 scenes into which their object carries them, 



For there is transport in the chase ; 



And there is joyance in the sport 

 Of field and forest, and each place 



Where the wild game-broods make resort, 

 The sedgy stream and bowery spring. 



Perhaps to many it may appear apocryphal 

 that the sportsman is sensible of such refined 

 influences, but on this head I am positive. 

 The philosophical inquirer is aware how many 



