For Forett and Stream. 
MY LAST FISHING DAY. 
L ET the wind* not sigh alone, 
Though they murmur still to, me, 
Telling of the days now flown. 
Bringing back my boyhood’s home, 
Dreamlike to'cheor me on. 
Tell mo that I could but sec 
The rippling stream and forest glen, 
Embowered by the old oaken tree. 
Where oft I've strolled, and leisurely 
Cast tho^tempting bait with glee. * 
Oft have I watched with an angler’s eye, 
And lifted 'gainst the eddying stream; 
Reeling, skipping with the fly, 
Watching patiently to descry 
Some wavelike motion breaking by. 
When sudden starts the nimble prey 
From out the sheltered, shaded nook, 
. And stealthily takes the bait away, 
Instinctive turns the other way, 
Fouling the line to my dismay, 
No fouling rod to clear the lino. 
Too deep for wading boots to go, 
In vain I struggle with the twine, 
Hoping, perchance, ere I opine, 
To capture at the ebbing time. 
Oh severed line! Oh hapless day! 
I bade adieu till ebbing time; 
Returning to the cot not far away, 
I heard the low toned voices say: 
A soldiers come to spend the day. 
Sigh on ye winds! your requiem sing, 
Your chilled breath tells me of the day; 
Tells me of the early Spring; 
Telle me of ebb tide gurellng; 
Tells me of the heart still sighing. 
The ebb tide came, I left the prey 
Near the old oak tree, where the lilac bloomod; 
Ah! well I remember the conscript day, 
The call of the bugle for battle array— 
My lust view of home, my lost fishing dny! 
Quebec, March l*f. C. N., M. D. 
For Foreit and Stream. 
(Three *jjj$eeh> ot\ the Jf$l'ac\netewm\. 
SEVENTH DAY IN CAMP. — NO. 4. 
I THREW off my blanket and stepped into the bracing 
air, just as the grey dawn was breaking iu the East, 
and in good time to see the sunrise. With all Shesbeep for 
a basin the morning wash was soon over, and while every- 
thing around was as yet asleep and still, I started to climb 
the upper end of our island that rose abruptly from the 
water and was comparatively free from trees, from which 
point I could best obtain my view. Some years ago a care- 
less Indian set tiro to the brush here and it left this end 
rather bare, as you see, but you can find a good seat among 
these rocks; so sit down and light your pipe with me and 
be patient, for it will be lighter soon and warm enough 
within an hour. This is the best spot on the lake from 
which to scan the shores for deer; far away off on our right 
is a good marsh, but small, and another one behind us, and 
this in the cast facing us is the best one they say for jack 
hunting iu either Ohmic or Sheshcep! 
The horizon is all grey now, and those streaks of faint 
yellow and gold are but the advance colors of what is to 
come; everything was sombre and misty when we started 
up here, and you can see plainly now how fast those colors 
form; you can count the streaks of light that shoot up into 
the sky from behind that hill, for they resemble in form an 
“aurora” on a Winter’s night, but they arc transient only, 
and the crimson and gold will spread out like a sheet of 
flame when the sun comes nearer the summit. The lake is 
like glnss aud reflects the trees and shrubs, as a mirror 
would your face, if the picture could only be transferred 
t canvas now! 
Here comes the breeze that dimples the lake in the open, 
but hardly stirs the leaves below us there; our mirror is 
broken into little atoms by it, but we won't mind, for 
yonder nondescript insect lias been inspired by it into at- 
tempting to cross to yonder point, and it will be more fun 
to watch him. He is bulky like a May bug and flie.9 like a 
miller near the water — too near altogether, if he wishes to 
reuch the shore, for these flsh are wide awake and hungry, 
as you can tell by the occasional rise off yonder in deeper 
water, where the there! Didn't I tell you so? That 
bass pulled him under without hardly a spring. That long 
flight was fatal to his life, but then he was perhaps n neces- 
sary meal to the flsh, and the links of the chuin connect, 
fur oue’s death is the other’s life, and I’ll wager you two to 
one that Ned and I can take the canoe and within ten min- 
utes bring that very flsh out of the water with my imita- 
tion bee und have him for breukfast; but you won't take 
me up, so we'll stay here and watch a little longer. 
Turn around and see the red flush on the woods behind 
us; it is deepening every minute, for the sun will come 
over yon line soon, and these bright colors will vankfli, to 
be repeated in the west to-uight. You will scarcely be- 
lieve that the top of the hill there is not solid earth or rock, 
but all that outline is formed by the heavy foliage of trees, 
nnd the sun will come over it like rising out of a pit. 
What a peaceful, quiet scene he will shine on here! no 
smoke or noise of any kind; not even the tinkle of a cow 
bell or bark of a dog will rise on the air, for we are in the 
wilderness, and the only human life on this lake, or for 
aught we know', within twenty miles circuit, is here. Far 
away in the city and settled country he will be hailed with 
joy by those who have tossed on a sick bed through the 
long night and vainly desired his rising; from out of many 
houses his glory will be shut to-day, for there are those who 
looked on his radiance yesterday for the last time, and the 
common idea cannot reconcile death with light, but ho will 
alter or change not a whit. 
Can you realize, friend, the number of times the light 
you and I are now looking on has shone and faded over 
this lake? The rim of the sun is half over the horizon 
line, and the day has begun in earnest, but Ned won’t have 
the breakfast ready for half an hour at least, and he would 
rather get it without our assistance; so sit still here until 
ho calls and let us talk about what interests us both— 
namely, the process nnd progress of creation hero around 
this island. 
You remember that Agassiz, before he died, proved to 
us that the hills at the lower end of Lake Champlain, in 
New York, arc the oldest in the world, and by the water 
marks in the rock convinced himself that land was visible 
there, after the great flood, in tho vicinity of White- 
hall, long before the ark rested on Mount Ararat, und 
that in regard to existence, America was really the oldest 
continent! You think It impossible that a man can take a 
piece of rock and say, this was formed at such a time, and 
this piece at another, going back to a period that cannot 
easily be understood, and yet be certain of what he says! 
It does seem 9trange, but if a man will only think when he 
is in the wilderness, these marvels arc easier comprehended 
then. What ages have come and gone since this beauti- 
fully defined, almost perfect landscape, was a chaos aud 
animal and vegetable life unknown! Yet creation is pro- 
gressing around us this morning as much as it was millions 
of years ago, if we could but delect it. When life came 
into being it required light, and it came, and ever since the 
sun has climbed over yonder hill, varying its course only 
with the seasons, and never halting save once, when the 
fight was raging in the valley of Gibeon centuries ago! 
Sec, friend! take up a handful of this soil; docs it dirty 
your hand? never mind, bring it close to your eye and tell 
me what you detect there! You say it is nothing but small 
particles of black dry mould, with a few specks of gritty 
substance. Rub it hard on the back of your hand and it is 
transferred there, only to be taken away by water. “Noth- 
I thing but dirt" you say, and never think that ut least one- 
third of it was once as hard os the flint in the rock you are 
sitting on, anil the rest is what was once vegetable and 
animal matter! Think of the time that has passed since 
that one-third was solid stone, and what force was neces- 
sary to reduce it thus, and tell mo if your life in compari- 
son docs not seem shorter and briefer than was that of tho 
bug we saw snapped up by that fish before tho sun came 
up. His life began possibly throe or four months ago, and 
ours may lust three Booro years and ten, yet tho comparison 
is but os one second to a million years! 
“Extravagant metaphor!” I hear you say. Very woll; 
think so if you will, but geology does not lie, and wo know 
by that that organic life existed hero ages before mau 
was created nnd sin crept with him Into tho world. By 
the time nature has worked far less wonders than trans- 
forming rock to earth, you und I will havu fully com- 
prehended tho greut mystery, not only of life but of what- 
ever lias existed or will exist iu the ages to coiue, which uo 
man can number. 
There’s Ned culling “breakfast,” and we must go down, 
but we'll have plenty of time Ibis afternoon, for, uccordiug 
to my count, this is tho Sabbath— Sunday, or Seventh Day, 
as I call it, and I, for one, am going to lot the fish und 
game alone to-day und do nothing but lie in thu sliudo und 
rest, with my pipe and thoughts for company, unless you 
caro to do the same. I don't think Ned would object to n 
"lay off," and he’s got his opinions of matters in goncrul, 
so we’ll have a good time “All right, Nod, we're 
coming!" 
“I say, Ned, isn't to day Sunday, or don't you keep track 
of it here?" 
“I always do, but it don’t make much difference; you 
came iu on Tuesday, nnd oampcil that night at thu upper 
fall, you remember, and we've been here four days; so I tnko 
it to morrow 'll be Monday, but what shall we do to day? I 
was thinking of tackling that pickerel up yonder,” nod- 
ding his licud toward tho upper end of the lake, “no's 
forgot tho prick of the Hpoon by this tlmu, I'll warrant, 
and will take hold again this morning.” 
"We’ll try him this evening, Ned, but I would rather 
keep still until noon, at least. I’ll tell you what I'd like, 
if you will, und that is for you to paddlu down to Fllut- 
off's aud give them one of these quarters of meat; they’ll 
bo glad of it, und we can kill another deer to-morrow with 
an easy conscience; you needn't bo away over three or four 
hours; I'll bo cook and get dinner. 11 
“Well, I’m willing; but you mustn't get uncusy if I stay 
a little over thut; I’ll be back by one, and we'll give that 
pickerel a brush at turndown. I'll tell Fliutoff you Bent 
him the meat!" so sayiug Ned unhooked the gambrel from 
the limb, nnd leaving me to clear away tho remounts of 
breakfast, which was speedily done, carried the quarter 
down to the bcuch, laid the canoe In the water, and uftcr 
coming back for his gun, departed down tho laku on his 
errand, leaving me to watch him as long as in sight. With 
tho venison in the bow, nnd himself kneeling in the stern, 
with his rifle close at hand, the canoe shot forward under 
his sweeping paddle until he was but a little dot In the 
distance, and then, os ho entered the narrow gap of the 
outgoing river, the point shut him out of sight and I was 
alone I 
There is always a subdued feeling comes over ono when 
left without a companion in tho wilderness. When your 
guide goes away on some planned excursion, to drive a 
deer or examine some particular ground, and takes even 
the dog, leaving you to listen for signals, or to sit down on 
some old windfall und wait his return, don't you always 
fall to watching tho ground squirrel*, and clouds, and 
birds, and think what n great world it is, and would be, 
even if your immense self were taken out? for where you 
chance to stop for only n minute you find life and pleasure 
and pain under your feet that is as real as your own; you 
feel a little smaller than when you started, for by the time 
your companion returns, you think you understand nature 
a little better, aud perhaps you dol 
Well, after Ned was gone I went up to my favorite spot 
under the little pine, nnd lying down in the shade, looked 
out over the lake and fancied I could hear the bells calling 
from the steeple of the church that was miles away, and 
see the people wending their way through the street, but i( 
