PREFACE TO THE FIRST EDITION. XXlll 



Is there not a time when the wan-faced student of science 

 may neglect for a while the sickly flickerings of the midnight 

 lamp ? Is there not a time when the learned counsellor may 

 escape the wranglings, the jeerings, the hitter feuds of the 

 halls of justice? And is there not a moment of leisure, an 

 hour of repose, when the skilful physician may turn a deaf 

 ear to the harassing solicitations of suffering humanity, and 

 draw for a brief period the curtain of oblivion around the 

 couch of disease and death ? 



Yes ! there is a time for all these ; and there is a time when 

 even the anxious, upright, and enterprising merchant may, 

 for a brief period, while quaffing, as it were, the fabled waters 

 of Lethe, forget the perplexities of commerce, the fluctuations 

 of trade, the uncertainty of riches, and remain even unmindful 

 of his gallant ships, that come bounding- across the briny deep, 

 heavily freighted with the fine wares of the North, the South, 

 the East, and the "West. 



Yes ! there is a time, thanks to the noble founders of our 

 liberal institutions, when even the industrious artisan, freed 

 from all care and anxiety, may forget the labors and duties 

 of the shop, and wander forth to enjoj' the works of nature 

 and learn more highly to appreciate the boon of freedom, 

 his country's dearest gift. 



To the fields, then, — to the bright and beautiful fields, — with 

 "dog and gun," do we invite you, one and all, to spend those 

 hours of leisure and participate in those innocent enjoyments 

 so captivating to a true sportsman. 



