82 WARWICK WOODLANDS. 



tauce. When we at last crowned the ridge, we f oixnd him, 

 just as Harry had predicted^ stretched in a half-recum- 

 bent attitude, leaning against a huge gray stone, with his 

 fur cap and double-barrel lying upon the withered leaves 

 beside him, puffing, as Archer told him, to his mighty 

 indignation, like a great grampus in shoal water. 



After a little rest, however, Falstaff revived, though not 

 before he had imbibed about a pint of applejack, an occu- 

 pation in which he could not persuade either of us, this 

 time, to join him. Descending from our elevated perch, 

 we now got into a deep glen, with a small brooklet wind- 

 ing along the bottom, bordered on either hand by a stripe 

 of marshy bog earth, bearing a low growth of alder 

 bushes, mixed with stunted willows. On the side opposite 

 to that by which we had descended, the hill rose long and 

 lofty, covered with niighty timber-trees standing in open 

 ranks and overshadowing a rugged and unequal surface, 

 covered with whortleberry, wintergreen, and cranberries, 

 the latter growing only along the courses of the little 

 runnels, which channelled the whole slope. Here, stony 

 ledges and gray broken crags peered through the under- 

 wood, among the crevices of which the stunted cedars stood 

 thick set, and matted with a thousand creeping vines and 

 brambles; while there, from some small marshy basin, the 

 giant Rhododendron Maximum rose almost to the height 

 of a timber tree. 



"Here, Tom," said Harry, "keep you along this run — 

 you'll have a woodcock every here and there, and look 

 sharp when you hear them fire over the ridge, for they 

 can't shoot to speak of, and the ruffed grouse will cross — 

 you know. You, master Frank, stretch your long legs 

 and get three parts of the way up this hill — over the sec- 

 ond mound — there, do you see that great blue stone with 

 a thunder-splintered tree beside it? just beyond that! then 

 turn due west, and mark the trending of the valley, keep- 

 ing a little way ahead of me, which you will find quite 

 easy, for I shall have to beat across you both. Go very 

 slow, Tom — now, hurrah !" 



Exhorted thus, I bounded up the hill and soon reached 

 my appointed station; but not before I heard the cheery 

 voice of Archer encourao-ing the eager spaniels — "Hie 

 cock ! hie cock ! pu-r-r-h !" — till the woods rang to the 

 clear shout. 



