The Lure of the Hunt 



"But I suppose the very best about hunting can 

 never be told at all. That is true of any really good 

 thing and there is nothing better than a long day 

 after the birds. It is always good to be out of 

 doors. And there are seasons when one is glad to 

 wander slowly over the fields and byways ; there are 

 times when it seems best of all to be still — in the 

 heart of the woods, on the wide hill pastures, in the 

 deep grass of the meadows. But not in the fall! 

 Is it a breath of the migrating instinct that makes 

 us want to be off and away, to go, and go, and go? 

 Yes, fall is the time for the hunt — gay, boisterous 

 fall, rioting in wind and color to keep up its spirits 

 against the stealthy approach of winter. And 

 whether we shoot well or ill, whether our game 

 pockets are heavy or light, no matter what the 

 weather we find or the country we cross, it is all 

 good hunting, very good. And at night we come in 

 to a blazing fire, feeling tired, oh, so tired! and 

 hungry, oh, so hungry! and with soul and body 

 shriven clean by wind and sun." — Elisabeth Wood- 

 bridge, "In the Wake of the Partridge." 



