PREFACE.

THE following pages require indulgence, having been written by one more accustomed to the rifle, the rod, and the saddle, than to the pen, or the rules of composition. They are rough and hasty sketches of a sporting tour, originally intended for the perusal of a friend; but, having been published by him in the columns of The Northern Whig, and favourably spoken of, I have been induced to re-print them in a more connected and permanent form. Should they cause a smile to light the eye, or part the lips, I shall think I have done well. To my "larking” companions, perhaps, in after years, they may recal past scenes, and freshen memory's fading light, causing a thrill of young life to wake the current of their blood, as when of yore they drank of pleasure's cup, and roved careless as the breeze.

GEORGE MATTHEWS.

Belfast, May, 1845.