242 PLEASURES OF ANGLING. 



pliability, nothing gave him greater pleasure than 

 to entertain his guests by exhibitions of his skill 

 upon his favorite instrument, the violin. He is 

 the trusted agent of several large land-owners, has 

 more ready cash (rumor says) than some of his 

 employers, and does more good with it than many 

 who make far greater parade of their wealth and 

 benevolence. And yet he has neither watch nor 

 clock in his domicile. When the question was put 

 to him : " Mr. Calkins, without a timepiece of any 

 kind in the house, how do you know when to get 

 up ? " " Oh," said he, " I always get up when it 

 stops raining" not a bad rule, certainly, for a 

 gentleman whose business does not require him to 

 imperil his health by exposing it to the weather. I 

 think I discovered in my last visit that the old gen- 

 tleman was less fond of his solitary life than for- 

 merly, and yearned anxiously for the society which 

 he enjoyed in his youth and which is so essential 

 to one's comfort in old age. When he does leave 

 these woods, he will be missed, for he has been a 

 pleasant companion to a great many anglers, who 

 appreciated his character and peculiarities. 



The row down the Raquette, with its overflowed 

 banks and strong current, was extremely pleasant. 

 There was this drawback, however, that the high 

 water robbed the river, in its immediate surround- 

 ings, of much of its beauty. We missed many old 



