A MERRY CHARIOTEER. 205 



a regular Tom Draw) would not allow us to alight, insist- 

 ing that we must go first to our intended sporting-ground. 

 About forty minutes took us there, our charioteer beguil- 

 ing the time with innumerable anecdotes and songs, never 

 being silent for a moment. One ditty he was particularly 

 attached to, which I can scarcely forget, he having sung it 

 at least a dozen times : 



"My health and wealth declining, 



The doctor was called in ; 

 He spoke to me so serious 



He spoke to me so plain 

 'You've racked your constitution 



By getting drunk again.' " 



However, the warning that the medical attendant appears 

 to have given him seemed to be thrown away, for he drank 

 more spirits, with more gusto, and that without showing 

 the effect, than any representative of the genus I ever pre- 

 viously met. 



Arriving on the ground, we determined to hunt Beau 

 and Belle, and keep Jock and Fan for the afternoon. Leav- 

 ing our wagon by the side of an Osage orange hedge sepa- 

 rating the prairie from a large corn-field, and, having insert- 

 ed cartridges in each barrel, we commenced work. The 

 ground we intended first beating was rolling prairie, with 

 a sufficiency of grass on it to make the walking good, and 

 the cover tolerable. My companions and self stretched 

 into line and started with the wind in our faces. Before 

 progressing a hundred yards Belle set dead as a statue, 

 and Beau immediately backed. Steadily we walked up to 

 the dogs, expecting immediately to commence fire upon a 

 pack of grouse ; but what was our disappointment to find 

 that the dogs were standing to a covey of partridge scarce- 

 ly half-grown ; so we let the young ones go without mo- 

 lestation, and continued our range. Our previous forbear- 



