Litchfield enquirer., 1860-08-23

ees@fc5 ttttettzj jt1t<@, NltUolUk- . ag8d ssya ss@1 aaassis sTas5a 4 -r--- 1 Il11 Cl-,H[ CONN, THURsDA' e loved should be made the subject of a bel. O that he should win . wife by gambling fo her; and perhaps he knew the old man wa
 hard to beat aud there was a strong prol !. ability of his loosing both wheat and wife. It was not until tho major. with his usua obstinacY had sworn that unless he won he : lie should never have hor, that tho youn. man was forced reluctantly to consent [, .|pby. @ The table was placed, the candles lit, tn, . cards produced, and tfict players took tlci tscats, with Miss Fanny between tI.en,. t.
 watch tic progress of the game. The card, nj jwere regularly shufIiedI aud cut and if fel to the n,ajor's lot to daal The first hnnl
 was played. and Robert made gift to his op l ponelit's high, low game, Robert then dealti
 the major begged; 1t was given, and the ma
 jor again made twot iis opponent,s one. <
 Six to two, said Fanny, with sigh. < I I The major, as he dealt the cards, winked iknowingly, aud said: 1a I'm good for the wheat, Master Bob.n The old man turned mp trump-it was a spade. Fanny glanced ut her fathers hand -her heart sank; he held the three, eight spot and the king! She then looked at Roberts hand, and To! he had the ace. qneen, deuce, and Jack or knayo. She whispered to Robert to bcg-l,c did so :. Take it," said the major.
 Robert led his deuce, which the major took with his tlircc spot, and followed bv playing the king. Robert put his queen up- on It. The major, supposing that it was the young mans last trump, leaned over the ta- blc, and tapping his last trick with his fin- ger, said: -t-,-... a.e .,1
 That's as good as wheat"
 " Is ftp asked Robert, as he displayed to the astohishod major the ace and lack vet in lis hands
 :" High, low, jack, gift aud game shouted Robert :
 " Out" ejacnlated Fanny. 5~. Good as wle.t," added Robert as he Hung as arms around her neck and kissed her. In due time they We're married, aud ever after that, when anything occurred ofa pleasing nature to t'c happy couple, they would express their emphatic appreciation of it by the phrase, 'good as wheat
 WASHINGTON AS A SPORTSMAN.
 After the peace of l7S3, the hunting es- which had gone down during the war, was renewed by the arrival of pack Of French hounds sent out by the Mar qnis de Lafayette. These ehiens de chase were of great size -5.
 {" Bred out of the Spartan kind. so flowed so
 E sanded, With ears that swept away the morning dow,
 demanded Like the Salonian bulls matched in mouth like i
 bells tho bells of Moscow and 9S, thf tJhIIy to miIdown 1,s stately stag, but in combat to encounter he wolf or boar, or even to grappie with the ordly lion. These hounds, from their fierce dispositions, were generally kept confined, and wo to the stranger who might be pass ing their kcnuel after nightfall, should the yates be uuclosed. His fate would be mel ancholy, unless he could clin, n,b some friendly trcc or the whip of the huntsnlan can'e ' speedily to tho rescue."' The linntsman always presided at tIlcir meals, and it was uuly by the liberal application of the whip l thong that anything like order could Do pre- served amoug those savagcs of the chase:
 The habit was to hunt three times week, weather permitting; breakfast was served, on tkcse mornings, at candlc-light, the Geh- rral always breaking his fast with an Indian corn cake and bowl of milk; and ere the cock had "doue salutation to the morn, ]" the whole cavalcade would often have left the house, and the fox be frequently unkennslled before sunrise. Those who have seen Wash ington on horseback will admit that he was one of the most accomplished of cavaliers in the true sense and perfection of the charac ter He rode, as he did everything else, with ease, elegance and with power. The vicious propcnsities of horses were of no mo- mcnt to this skillful aud during rider. He always said that he required but one good opality in horse, to go along, and ridicnled the idea of its being even possible tbat he should be unhorscd, provided the animal kopt on his legs. Indeed the perfect aud sinewy, frame of the admirable man gave him such q surpassing grip with his knees, that horse might xs soon disencumber it. self of the saddle as of such a rider.
 The chase cndcd, thc.party would return to the mansion-house, where, at a well-spread board and with cheerful glass, the fcats of the leading dog, the most gallant horse or the boldesl rider, together with the prowcss of the famed black fox, were all discussed, while Washington never permitting eych his pleasures to infringe upon the order and reg ularity of his habits, would after few l glasses of Madeira, retire to his bed supper 1 less at g o'clock. Ho always took little tea and toast between and in tho cvcn-
 ing. ... :, 1 Washington's last hunt with his hounds,
 was in l7S5. His private affairs and public
 business required too much of his time te
 allow him to indulge in field sports. His fondness for agricultural improvements, and
 the number of visitors that crowded Mount i Vernon, induced him to break up his ken
 nels, to give away his hounds, and to bid . final adieu to the pleasures of tho chase He then formed deer park below the man
 sion house, extending to the river, and en
 closing by a high paliog about hundred acres of land. The park was at first stock
 cd with only the native deer, to which wa
 afterwards added the English fallow deer from the park of Governor Oglc of Mary
 land.
 !. The stock of deer increased very rapidly
 vet strange to say, although herding togeth