CHARMS OF A HUNTER'S LIFE. 265 

 Solitude is too insufficient a term 



The Fascina- , i /> ,1 . i 



tions of a to convey an idea 01 the intensely 



Hunter'slafe. . . . 



overpowering sensation of desolation 



and loneliness that pervades these regions ; yet, 

 to the hunter, who is accustomed to sojourn in 

 their deepest recesses, the wilderness is a home 

 which he would not exchange for any other ; and 

 as he roams through its boundless expanse of 

 vendure, with no other companions but the silent 

 trackers and his dogs, and no guide but a 

 pocket-compass and certain jungle signs not to 

 be understood by the dwellers in cities, he 

 imbibes certain feelings that cannot be entered 

 into save by those who have themselves ex- 

 perienced the charms and fascinations of "forest 

 life," and enjoyed its pure and heartfelt plea- 

 sures. To him it possesses a peculiar spell, not 

 to be found elsewhere ; and, far away from the 

 haunts of man, he gives no care to the turmoil 

 and bustle of the busy world, but loves to study 

 nature in her grandest form, and silent unsullied 



