10 ACCESSIBLE FIELD SPORTS. 



departure of darkness, and with greater satisfaction 

 than I ever previously experienced, I rose from my 

 wet and uncomfortable resting-place. To seek my 

 lost route was my first endeavour, and for more than 

 an hour I wandered without success. At last, when 

 almost yielding to despair, I struck the margin of the 

 lake I had been shooting on the evening before ; and 

 what a beautiful, enthralling scene lay before me ! 

 The placid water only rippled where the wild duck 

 sported, or the voracious fish pursued to the surface 

 their destined prey ; while the shadow of each tree that 

 grew near the margin was so distinctly reflected that 

 the minutest limb or twig could be traced with perfect 

 precision. 



I stood entranced, and so great was my admiration, 

 that nothing could have induced me to disturb the 

 harmony of the picture by destroying the life, or 

 disturbing the retreat, of the beautiful creatures which 

 formed its prominent features. To the left were several 

 deer and fawns, knee- deep, feeding upon the tender, 

 succulent leaves of the water-lily, the youngsters occa- 

 sionally chasing one another in sport, and unknow- 

 ingly practising and developing those muscles which 

 Nature intends to be their protection in the hour of 

 danger; their beautiful, graceful mothers frequently 

 raising their eyes from their morning repast with 



