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498 WILD SCENES AND WILD HUNTERS. 



stood PIscator, with a wild look of endurance, earnestly 

 fighting away at his invisible torturers with a leafy bough 

 which he had plucked ; his warm face glowed again with 

 the malignant ardor of their stings, and he stopped at 

 intervals in the fierce battle to rub his goaded limbs, and 

 fairly danced in the restless shifting of his feet. Suffering 

 as I was, or rather, had been, I could not help laughing at 

 the comical sight. But he did not regard me, and coolly 

 proceeded to stuff the legs of his pants down his boot-tops, 

 to protect himself from their assaults in that quarter; and 

 then turning up his coat collar, tied his handkerchief about 

 his ears, and soon, with recovered equinimaty, came smiling 

 to his seat in the boat, while the bough played yet faster 

 about his face. I could but wonder at the man. I watched 

 him in utter amaze ; puzzled whether most to admire the 

 thickness of his skin or the immovability of his temper. 

 As soon as the boat was in motion they left us, for they 

 were drifted behind on air-currents in our wake. 



We were- soon at the wider mash meadows, which indicated 

 our approach to the outlet of Elm Lake, and here was the 

 ground where the night hunt was to commence. Darkness 

 had not not yet settled doAvn, and until it came our lights 

 would be of no avail; so the oars were hid, and the boat 

 run through the mash to shore, and there we were to stand 

 until it became dark enough to light the candles ! 



We stood underneath the bordering pines, and as soon 

 as we became stationary — heavens and earth ! the dusky air 

 thickened with the black and venomous swarms of mosquitos, 

 flies and gnats, and the hungry diapason of their blistering 

 music was fairly roared into our ears ! No herd of famished 

 wolves was ever so desperately ravenous as this fierce multi- 

 tude seemed to be — for as I was fully protected by my veil, 

 I could afford to be philosophical in my observations on the 

 suffering of the two outside unfortunates. 



George was very loquacious, and having provided himself 



