86 MY OLD DOG TRIM. 



of Trim, as like Nemesis he silently followed them to their 

 fate, gave me great consolation and made life, during the 

 close season, not quite unendurable. 



It was with happy feelings of glorious anticipation that 

 my chosen friend and self, accompanied by Trim, sallied 

 forth at early dawn on the first day of the open season. 

 Would that I wielded the magic pen of a Herbert to describe 

 to you the manifold beauties of that lovely morning, and to 

 lead you, step by step, through wooded aisle and open glade, 

 and to depict in glowing colors the many interesting scenes 

 that were constantly transpiring ; and, more than all else, 

 would I wish to impart to yon a portion of the joyful feel- 

 ings that to us were a continual feast ; but as my pen is only 

 a feeble one, at best, I will leave all th ; s to your imagination. 

 Suffice it to say that Trim more than verified the encomiums 

 that I had lavishly bestowed upon him, and converted my 

 friend from the error of his ways, woodcock- ward, and made 

 him a staunch and lifelong devotee at the shrine of the lordly 

 grouse. 



There is no game bird in the world that so taxes the skill 

 and patience of dog, and man, as a sly, old cock grouse ; 

 most fertile in cunning resources to evade you and escape, 

 when, seemingly, you have him safe. In vain did they essay 

 their most wily stratagems with Trim ; be was up to all 

 theb maneuvers, and I could nearly always, tell what par- 

 ticular trick a bird was going to try on us by paying close at- 

 tention to the dog. Did it attempt to run and gain the 

 vantage of distance, from which to rise well out of shot, like 

 a whirlwind Trim was after it, and passing on one side of it, 

 a few feet ahead, he would turn and point as staunch as a 

 rock, with the sadly demoralized bird between us. He 

 would rarely fail in forcing the wildest of them to lie securely 

 hid until, in numberless instances, I have literally kicked 

 them from their hiding- place, so badly scared that the veriest 

 tyro could easily have knocked them over as they floundered 

 away in a straigit line, all the conceit, that they could twist 

 and double, taken out of them. Did they endeavor to 

 "swing round the circle" and get in our rear, and scare us 



