39 



CAPITAL RUN WITH C. MACDONALB MORETON 

 OF LARGIE'S OTTER-HOUNDS. 



" 'Tis pleasant iu the woodland glade, 



Where the waving harebell grows, 

 Beneath the darkly chequered shade 



The startled game to rouse; 

 To wake the echoes far and wide, 



With hounds and bugle horn, 

 When on each tree and green hill-side 



Glitters the coming morn." 



What can surpass the healthful enjoyment of field sports ? 

 Who is there acquainted with their many attractions, and 

 who can relish the excitement of those varied scenes of manly 

 diversion, who does not feel his heart bound within him at 

 their bare mention? Those who maintain that a moderate 

 share in their numerous attractions tends to debase the mind, 

 blunt the affections, and brutalize the disposition, must be 

 wholly unacquainted with the life of a true sportsman. A 

 taste for the pursuit of wild animals through magnificent 

 woods, over far-extended moors and mountains, on wide-spread 

 lakes, or on impetuous or peaceful rivers, is inherent in human 

 nature ; and this taste is never more gtrikingly displayed than 

 in the high spirits and joy evinced by the denizen of crowded 

 cities, whether he be a member of the " ring," a " bull " or a 

 " bear," a cotton broker, or any other man who has to keep 

 his nose to the grindstone, when they escape to spend, how- 

 ever brief, an interval amid those exhilarating scenes. The 

 "shop" is thrown aside (or ought to be), the cares and 

 anxieties of life are forgotten, their spirits become buoyant, 

 their strength is reoewed, and they return to their several 

 occupations better and healthier men. Otter-hunting, above 

 all sports, is one to which the above remarks particularly 

 apply, as every one, without cost, from the peer to the peasant 

 can participate in the fun, if they have only a good pair of 

 legs, a stout heart, and strong lungs, so as to be able to stick 

 to the hounds, and see them working. The pursuit of the 



