92 WARWICK WOODIyANDS. 



picturesque improvements of man's avarice! — for truly 

 thou, in this utilitarian age, and at brief distance from 

 America's metropolis, art young, and innocent, and un- 

 polluted, as when the red man drank of thy pure waters, 

 long centuries ere he dreamed of the pale-faced oppres- 

 sors, who have already rooted out his race from half its 

 native continent. 



Another half hour brought us down at a rattling pace 

 to the village, and once again we pulled up at Tom's well- 

 known dwelling, just as the day was breaking. A crowd 

 of loiterers, as usual, was gathered even at that untimely 

 season in the large bar-room; and when the clatter of our 

 hoofs and wheels annoimced us, we found no lack of 

 ready-handed and quick-tongued assistants. 



"Take out the horses, Timothy," cried Harry, "unhar- 

 ness them, and rub them down as quickly and as thor- 

 oughly as may be — let them have four quarts each, and 

 mind that all is ready for a start before an hour. Mean- 

 time, Frank, we will overhaul the game, get breakfast, 

 and hunt up a wagon for the deer and setters." 



"Don't bother yourself about no wagon," interposed 

 Tom, "but come you in and liquor, else we shall have you 

 gruntin half the day; and if old roan and my long pig- 

 box won't carry down the deer, why I'll stand treat." 



A jorum was prepared, and discussed accordingly ; fresh 

 ice produced, the quail and woodcock carefully unpacked, 

 and instantly re-stowed with clean straw, a measure 

 which, however, seemed almost supererogatory, since so 

 completely had the external air been excluded from the 

 game-box, that we found not only the lumps of ice in the 

 bottom unthawed, but the flannel which lay over it stiff 

 frozen; the birds were of course perfectly fresh, cool, 

 and in good condition. Our last day's batch, which it 

 was found impossible to get into the box, with all the 

 rufFed grouse, fifty at least in number, were tied up by the 

 feet, two brace and two brace, and hung in festoons round 



lentlal submerged swamps, whereon the dead trees still stand, tall, 

 gray and ghostly ; to convert a number of acres of beautiful meadow- 

 land into stagnant grassy shallows ; to back up the waters at the 

 lake's head, to the utter destruction of several fine farms ; and, last 

 not least, to create fever and ague in abundance, where no such 

 thing had ever been heard tell of before. 



Certainly ! your well devised Improvement is a great thing for a 

 country : 



