THE DINNER. 125 



through Italy, where they are carried by the 

 Sirocco, and which at that time is extremely 

 wet. Come, let us have another bottle of 

 claret : a pint per man is not too much after 

 such a day's fatigue. 



HAL. You have made me president for 

 these four days, and I forbid it. A half pint 

 of wine for young men in perfect health is 

 enough, and you will be able to take your 

 exercise better, and feel better for this absti- 

 nence. How few people calculate upon the 

 effects of constantly renewed fever, in our luxu- 

 rious system of living in England ! The heart 

 is made to act too powerfully, the blood is 

 thrown upon the nobler parts, and, with the 

 system of wading adopted by some sportsmen, 

 whether in shooting or fishing, is delivered 

 either to the hemorrhoidal veins, or, what is 

 worse, to the head. I have known several 

 free livers, who have terminated their lives by 

 apoplexy, or have been rendered miserable by 



year ; the period when the eggs were laid ; the heat of 

 the water when they were deposited, and the quantity 

 of rain since. The migration of the solitary snipe is 

 only one link in a great chain of causes and effects, all 

 connected, and extending from Africa to Siberia. 



