366 WILD SPORTS OF THE WEST. 



CHAPTER XXXIX. 



THE day of my departure from this wild retreat, 

 where so many months have happily passed over, is 

 determined : indeed, the season hardly admits a longer 

 sojourn, and circumstances beyond my control require 

 an immediate return to England. My kinsman has 

 made arrangements for passing the genial season of 

 Christmas, and the remainder of the winter, with his 

 relations in the interior ; and in the morning fox-hunt 

 and evening dance, the dullest months of gloomy winter 

 will merrily disappear. 



For me, were I not encumbered with a fortune, and 

 " all the ills that flesh is heir to " when one is afflicted 

 with independence, this place would suit me admirably. 

 Though these shores be wild, and weather savage, yet 

 every day brings its novelty along with it. The winter 

 fisheries on the coast are magnificent ; and birds, known 

 only to a naturalist elsewhere, are daily presented during 

 the stormy season to the active and intelligent shooter. 

 That wild being, Hennessey, has preserved an infinity of 

 curious specimens ; and many a rare production that the 

 ornithologist would prize, is here shot, and disregarded 

 by the peasant who is so fortunate as to possess a gun. 



Among the natural advantages which this remote 

 coast possesses, the ocean contributes largely to the 

 stock, and even the tempest does not rage in vain. The 

 prevailing westerly winds drive many a serviceable 

 waif to the shore ; and seldom a winter passes, but some 

 valuable wreck or derelict property adds to my kinsman's 

 limited resources. True, these " angel visits " are 



