186 THE JONATHAN PAPERS 



said, &quot;To-day they will be in the swamps,&quot; I 

 responded, &quot;To the swamps let us go.&quot; But 

 after a time I came to have opinions of my 

 own, and then the era of discussion set in. 



&quot;To-day,&quot; begins Jonathan judicially, 

 &quot;the wind is north, and the birds will be on 

 the south slopes close to the swamp bottoms 

 to keep warm.&quot; 



&quot;Now, Jonathan, you know I don t a bit 

 believe in going by the wind. The partridges 

 don t mind wind, their feathers shed it. What 

 they care about is the sun, and to-day the sun 

 is hot, at least,&quot; with a shiver, &quot;it would 

 be if we had feathers on instead of canvas. 

 I believe we shall find them in the big 

 woods.&quot; 



I usually advocate the big woods, because 

 I like them best for a tramp. 



Jonathan, too well content at the prospect 

 of a day s hunt to mind contradiction, says 

 genially, &quot;All right; I ll go wherever you 

 say.&quot; 



Which always reduces me to terms at once. 

 Above all things, I dislike to make myself an 

 swerable for the success or failure of the day. 

 I prefer irresponsible criticism beforehand 



