THE OLD POACHER. 147 



where the soil in an agricultural point of view 

 is poor and barren, and the few arable fields that 

 meet the eye can hardly repay the labour of the 

 husbandman. The surface of the country, how- 

 ever, presents great variety of scenery. Hills 

 and glens of heather, studded with hollies and 

 yew trees, are seen in all directions, and contrast 

 with the russet foliage of the great oak woods 

 which form the principal feature in the land- 

 scape ; while extensive commons, covered with 

 gorse and planted with Scotch fir, are perhaps 

 succeeded by moors of alders and willows with 

 dark deep-looking ponds, the margins of which 

 are hemmed in by reeds and sedges ; and over 

 this varied and thinly peopled district the black 

 grouse, the pheasant, the partridge, the wood- 

 cock, the hare, and the rabbit still roam, almost 

 in a state of nature, and, with the exception of 

 the first, in sufficient numbers to reward any 

 true and unspoiled sportsman. 



One morning, just as we were preparing to take 

 the field, a live woodcock was brought into the 

 yard by a rough -looking native, whose appearance 

 strongly reminded me of Leather stocking in ( The 

 Prairie.' He was a tall and sinewy old man, 

 with a weather-beaten countenance. His grey 

 head was covered with a hare-skin cap. He 

 wore a threadbare velveteen shooting coat, while 



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