The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1881-06-29

Hobbies.


Take the case of lady of our acquaintance
who had always greatly despised fishing. What
attraction people could find in 1t was to her
incomprehcnsible; rat-catching, she said, she
might bring herself possibly to take an inter-
est in, but.never fishing. At last, some years
ago she happened to go to an Irish moor with
her brother; and he. not knowing what to do
for her amusement, sent her out fly fishing un-
der tho keepers care. She caught three fish,
and also caught her hook in her thumb,
and had to have it cut out; and from that day
the spirit of Isaac Walton entered into her.
She bought pair of fishing stockings, and was
TO be seen In all weathers perseveringly wad-
ing and fiogging the water, till she became an
expert angler, and is now competent to dis
course learnedly on the relative merits of flies,
fishing-rods and all such topics. Another lady
again, who had mounted on variety of hob
bies, Dante, music, algebra, arithmetic, ETC.,
had always had a strong dislike to everything
connected with farm. 1t bored her; she
knew and cared nothing about it, and thought
it associated with nasty smells which she
could not endure. But suddenly agricultural
matters assumed new aspect, for farming
the one thing worth living for and taking the
trouble of studying. Books ON thorough bass,
italian and sums were left languishing upon
their shelves, and her table was covered excu-
sively with works upon the treatment Of land,
rotation of crops, manures, the management
and feeding of stock and similar subjects. She
learned to tell at sniff whether field was
being dressed with guano, bones, Super-phOS-
phate, or slaughter-house manure; and would
lean long over the doors of the pigsties, or
stand seriously bordering upon the "loDg'' or
short" condition of dungheap, without heed
ing the Savory odors therefrom arising.
Do we not know an artistic young man who,
il an unusually striking sunset should occur
when he is out shooting, will at once dismiss
all further thought of making good bag,
send the keeper after sketch book and colors,
lay aside his gum and calmly proceed to paint
to the considerable disgust of his fellow
sportsmen? And have We not seen another
gentleman, with any number of gardeners at
his command, who devotes every spare minute
TO his Auriculas, and is perpetually rushing off
to their houses, that he may with his own
hands move pots into or out of drip, or open
or shut panes of glass, to regulate the amount
of air that is to blow upon the precious plants,
just as if their welfare depended entirely upon
his personal efforts?
The Hobby may be chemistry, music, lace,
science, china, algebra, languages, history, pol
itics, Volunteers, farming, gardening, athletics,
painting, architecture, horse-racing, or what
not. Be 1t what it may, and however little
choice you may have had in the matter, you
are, nevertheless, completely enchanted with
it, and quite prepared to maintain that that
particular pursuit, and no other, is the most
worthy and elevated of all that can possibly en-.
gage the attention of the human race. And,
what rapture do you not then experience, if
you chance to encounter another person with
the same craze upon him as YOURSELF With
what unwearying relish is the common point
of interest talked over, and how exalted is the
opinion you mutually entertain for one anoth-
er's good sense and good taste! The discussion
that goes on between you and the kindred spir-
it whom you have met is apt to recall to the
mind of listener the negroes idea of an argu-
ment: "Golly, massa, how me lub argument!
Pompey, him say-paint dat wall white; me
ssy-paint him white, too; and den we argey
pom de point for half day--oh, lubly'