162 LEWIS'S AMERICAN SPORTSMAN. 



never trust any one to feed our dogs, no matter how fatigued wo 

 may be, but make it a positive rule, from which there is no appeal, 

 to attend to this duty ourselves, and most generally superintend 

 the cooking of their suppers as well as sharing it out to them 

 when done; for where can we find an ignorant country-servant or 

 farm-hand willing to bestow the necessary attention upon the pre- 

 paration and serving-up of food for an over-fatigued and perhaps 

 delicate pointer ? Besides all this, there is another reason, equally 

 important, why the sportsman should feed his dogs himself: it 

 attaches the animals to him, and consequently makes them the 

 more subservient to his will, and therefore the more anxious to do 

 that which will merit his caresses and kind treatment. This is 

 really far more important than many careless owners of dogs 

 suppose; it is a feature in sporting that should not be over- 

 looked, and we wish particularly to call the attention of our 

 friends to its operation. For, after all, the pleasures resulting 

 from the field are almost entirely dependent upon the good and 

 gentle behavior of our dogs ; for without their exhilarating presence 

 and cheerful assistance, the hunting of most game would be not 

 only very tame, but very uncertain amusement. 



Having partaken of our supper, smoked our regalia, and sipped 

 perhaps a glass of warm punch, but only one, and that very light, 

 we retire to our own room at an early hour, unpack our carpet-bag, 

 and arrange all the shooting-apparatus ready for the morrow's 

 expedition. This being done, we go to bed, sleep soundly, and 

 get up at the first dawn of day, big with expectations and ready 

 for action. Every thing being arranged over-night, we find all 

 the shooting-accoutrements at our very finger-ends, and conse- 

 quently are enabled to dress very leisurely, without bustle or 

 confusion. Breakfast being despatched, which, by-the-by, should 

 be a very substantial repast, we call our dogs around us, give 

 them a light feed without flesh, and then, with a chosen companion, 

 away to the fields, 



" Soon as the eastern skies display 

 The rosy tints of welcome day." 



