THE CARIBOU. 



105 



tions — the sportsmen of America; if I have been permitted 

 to add .one well -authenticated fact to the fascinating records 

 of this singularly interesting species of the great family of 

 Deer — I shall congratulate myself upon the, to me, gratify- 

 ing conclusion that I have not been, all my life an enthusi- 

 astic sportsman in vain. 



And now my pleasant task is done; 

 It brings back many a glorious run, 

 Emerging from the lambent haze 

 Which circles round the camp-fire's blaze, 

 Revealing to fond memory's eye 

 The dear departed scenes gone by, 

 When limbs were lithe and arms were strong, 

 And life one gladsome burst of song — 

 Revealing, 'mid unfading sheen, 

 The "runway" in the forest green; 

 " The antler'd monarch's " springing bound; 

 The matchless music of the hound, 

 When headlong on the steaming scent, 

 With instinct true as steel, he went I 

 The gaze into the spreading track, 

 The breaking twig, the rifle's crack, 

 The quivering limb, the closing eye — 

 The forest's dying majesty! 



